FA 


Field  Columbian  Musi  tm 

Publication  No.  88 

l.nthropological  Series  Vol.   VII,    No.    i 


IRADITIONS    OF    THE    OSAGE 


George  A.   Dorsey 
Curator,   Department  of  Anthropology 


FhE  I 
UNIVERSITY  OF  II 


Chicago,    U.  S.    A. 

■niarv,    1904 


,  UNIVERSITY  OF 
LLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
STACKS 


W 


co^ie^s 


PUBLICATIONS 


OF 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  \lSTORY 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL  SERIES 

Volume  VII 

l/WiVTRsn  v  f>r  iij  iwnis  i  ihkaw> 

DEC  6      1915 


Chicago,  U.  S.  A. 

1904-1912 


V 


DEC  6      1915 

CONTENTS 

1.  Dorsey,  George  A. ,  Traditions  of  the  Osage        .      .1-60 

2.  Dorsey,  George  A.,  The  Ponca  Sun  Dance    .      .      .  61-88 

Plates  I— XXXV 

3.  Tarbell,  F.  B.,  Catalogue  of  Bronzes,   etc.,  in  Field 

Museum  of  Natural  History,  reproduced  from  Origi- 
nals in  the  National  Museum  of  Naples  ....  89-144 

Plates  XXXVI— CXVII 

4.  De  Cou,  Herbert  F.,  Antiquities  from  Boscoreale,  in 

Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  with  Preface  and 
Catalogue  of  Iron  Implements  by  F.  B.  Tarbell       145-212 

Plates  CXVIII— CLXVI 


Field  Columbian  Museum 

Publication  No.  88 

Anthropological  Series  Vol.   VII,   No.    i 


TRADITIONS    OF    THE    OSAGE 


BY 


George  A.   Dorsey 

Curator,   Department  of  Anthropology 


THE  LBBARY  OF  THE 

FEB  17  1938 

9f  \LUHQ\S 


Chicago,   U.  S.   A. 

February,  1904 


572.-05 

FA 

V.7M 

Cop. 2. 


TRADITIONS  OF  THE  OSAGE 

BY 

GEORGE  A.  DORSEY 


PREFACE. 

The  tales  here  presented  were  collected  by  the  author 
while  engaged  in  making  an  ethnological  collection  among  the 
Osage  for  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  in   1901-1903. 

The  Osage  are  of  Siouan  stock,  and  made  their  home,  when 
first  known  to  the  whites,  in  southern  Missouri,  northern  Arkansas 
and  eastern  Kansas.  In  1871  they  were  remloved  to  a  reservation 
in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Oklahoma,  which  they  still  occupy. 
They  are  degenerating  rapidly,  are  very  lazy  and  much  addicted  to 
drink;  the  use  of  the  peyote  or  mescal  among  them  is  rapidly  in- 
creasing. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  collection  of  tales  does  not  ade- 
quately represent  the  traditions  of  the  tribe.  This  is  largely  due 
to  the  difficulty  of  engaging  the  attention  for  any  length  of  time 
of  the  old  men  of  the  tribe,  for  reasons  above  mentioned. 

George  A.  Dorsey. 
Field  Columbian  Museum, 
February,  1904. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

I.  The  Buffalo  and  the  Rabbit 9 

.   2.  The  Grasshopper  and  the  dancing  Turkeys 9 

3.  The  Prairie  Chicken  and  the  Wolf 10 

4.  The  Wolf  and  the  Buffalo    -                         10 

5.  The  Opossum  and  the  Skunk 11 

6.  The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf -        -  12 

7.  The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf 12 

8.  The  Bear  and  the  Wolf         ...        - 13 

9.  The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf !3 

10.  The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf -        -        -  14 

11.  The  Bald-Eagle  and  the  Wolf 15 

12.  The  Turtle's  War-party 15 

13.  The  Turtle's  War-party -        -        -        -16 

14.  The  Mourning  Frog 17 

15.  The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Four  Sisters 18 

16.  The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Seven  Sisters 19 

17.  The  Rolling  Head 21 

18.  The  Old  Woman  and  the  Grasshopper 23 

19.  The  Old  Woman  and  the  Orphan  Boy -  24 

20.  The  Rabbit  and  the  Picture 24 

21.  The  Woman  who  married   her  Son 25 

22.  The  Woman  who  tried  to  marry  her  Son-in-Law       ....  26 

23.  The  Woman  who  married  a  Buffalo 27 

24.  The  Girl  and  the    Mountain-Lion         ...        ...        -  30 

25.  The  Mourning  Woman  and  her  Lover    -'       -        -        -     ,   -        -        -  31 

26.  The  Deceived  Boy -        -  32 

27.  The  Boy  and  Old  Cheat 32 

28.  The  Boy  and  his  Dog 33 

29.  The  Boy  and  Big-Nest 34 

30.  The  Deserted  Boy  and  his  Sister 36 

31.  The  Boy,  the  Arrow,  and  the  Ducks 37 

32.  The  Boy  and  the  Mountain-Lion 40 

33.  The  Boy  and  the  Owl 41 

34.  The  Boy  who  killed  the  Hill 42 

35.  The  Boy  and  the  Bad  Spirit 42 

36.  The  Chief's  Son  and  the  Orphan  Girl 43 

37.  The  Water  Baby -        -        -        -        -  44 

38.  The  Lost  Boy  and  his  Horse 45 

39.  The  Boy  who  ran  away 47 

40.  Splinter-Foot  Girl v 49 

Abstracts *- 51 

vii 


TRADITIONS   OF  THE   OSAGE. 

i. — The  Buffalo  and  the  Rabbit. 

The  Buffalo  and  the  Rabbit  were  once  living  together  in  the 
woods.  While  going  around,  they  found  a  female  Squirrel,  living 
in  a  tree.  So  one  day  these  two  men  went  to  see  the  Squirrel,  but 
she  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 

So  one  time  the  Rabbit  went  by  himself  to  talk  to  the  Squirrel. 
The  Rabbit  said,  "You  like  that  old  Buffalo?  I  can  just  do  anything 
with  him.  But  the  Squirrel  said  to  the  Rabbit,  "  Just  as  if  you 
could  do  anything  w)ith  that  Buffalo!"  "Well,"  said  the  Rabbit, 
"I  will  ride  him  up  here  to-morrow."  But  the  Squirrel  laughed 
at  him. 

The  Rabbit  went  home  and  played  sick.  When  the  Buffalo 
came  back  he  saw  the  Rabbit  with  his  head  tied  up  with  a  rag,  and 
he  said  to  him,  "Brother,  what  is  the  matter  with  you?"  And  the 
Rabbit  said,  "Brother,  I  am  awfully  sick."  And  the  Buffalo  said, 
"Too  bad,  brother.  What  can  I  do  to  help  you?"  The  Rabbit  said, 
"I  want  to  take  a  ride  and  go  by  where  the  Squirrel  lives ;  then 
I  may  get  better,  if  I  see  her."  So  the  Rabbit  saddled  up  the  Buf- 
falo and  put  a  big  bell  on  him  and  a  red  feather  on  his  tail  and 
told  the  Buffalo  that  he  would  like  to  have  a  whip.  So  the  Buffalo 
got  for  him  a  dog  whip,  and  they  started  off.  The  bell  began  to 
ring  just  before  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Squirrel.  So  the  Squirrel 
saw  them  coming,  and  said,  "  Whv,  look  at  that  old  Rabbit  riding 
the   Buffalo!" 

Just  as  he  rode  up,  the  Rabbit  said,  "See  what  I  told  you." 
And  he  began  to  whip  the  Buffalo  with  the  whip.  Then  the  Buf- 
falo bucked  and  kicked,  and  the  Rabbit  jumped  and  ran  into  the 
brush,  and  the  Buffalo  ran  right  after  him.1 

2. — The  Grasshopper  and  the  dancing  Turkeys. 
"Grandmother,  let's  allow  the  Turkeys  to  have  a  dance,"  said 
the  Grasshopper}.  So  he  called  the  Turkeys,  and  they  all  came  to 
dance.  After  they  had  started  to  dance,  the  Grasshopper  told  them 
all  to  shut  their  eyes.  So  they  shut  their  eyes,  and  the  Grasshopper 
broke  their  necks,  one  at  a  time.     But  one  of  the  Turkeys  hap- 

1  Also  Pawnee. 

O 


io        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

pened  to  open  his  eye,    and  saw  that  the  Grasshopper  was'  killing 
them ;  so  they  flew  away. 

Grasshopper  had  killed  about  fourteen ;  so  he  said  to  his  grand- 
mother, "Let  us  cook  these  Turkeys;  and  invite  all  the  chiefs." 
Then  he  told  his  grandmother  to  go  behind  the  tipi,  while  he 
stood  in  the  door  with  a  long  stick  to  push  the  door  wfith.  Then 
he  began  to  say,  "Hello,  chief,  take  a  seat."  Then  he  went  in  by 
himself,  and,  after  eating  all  the  Turkeys,  he  told  the  old  woman 
to  come  and  drink  up  the  soup.  He  told  her  that  the  chiefs  had 
eaten  a  very  big  dinner.  Then  the  old  woman  said,  "  I  am  very  glad 
that  they  ate  heartily."  * 

3. — The  Prairie  Chicken  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Prairie  Chicken  and  the  Wolf  met  each  other  on  the  creek. 
The  Wolf  said  to  the  Prairie  Chicken,  "Hello,  friend !  How  came 
you  to  be  spotted?"  "Why,"  said  the  Prairie  Chicken,  "I  got  in 
the  hollow  of  a  tree,  then  put  a  stick  at  the  bottom  and  set  fire  to 
it.    I  stayed- in  until  I  turned  spotted." 

So  the  Wolf  decided  that  he  would  try  to  be  spotted  also.  So 
he  went  and  got  into  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  put  a  stick  at  the  bottom 
and  set  fire  to  it.  He  stayed  in  the  hollow  until  one  eye  popped 
out.  Pretty  soon  the  other  eye  popped  out.  So  the  Prairie 
Chicken  took  the  Wolf's  eyes  and  started  off,  saying,  "I  have 
somebody's  eyes,  but  I  do  not  know  whose,  though  I  think  they 
are  Coyote's  eyes." 

Some  Coyotes  that  were  near  heard  what  he  was  saying,  and 
they  all  stopped  and  listened  to  him  and  they  heard  him  say  it 
again.  So  they  started  after  him.  They  got  Bob-Tail  (he  was 
the  best  runner)  to  catch  him.  Bob-Tail  started  after  the  Prairie 
Chicken  and  caught  him  in  a  little  while,  and  killed  him.  The 
rest  of  the  young  Wolves  came  and  ate  him  up.  The  old  Wolf 
came  up  last,  and  asked,  "Is  there  any  left  for  me?"  "No,  old  man. 
we  have  eaten  him  up,  a  long  time  ago,"  said  they.  So  they  all 
started  off.  The  old  Wolf  stayed  behind,  broke  the  bones,  and  got 
the  marrow. 

4. — The  Wolf  and  the  Buffalo. 

The  Wolf  came  to  where  a  Buffalo  was  eating  grass,  and  stood 
quite  a  while,  watching  him  eat.     Pretty  soon  the  Buffalo  asked, 

\ 

1  A  similar  tale  of  ducks  or  other  dancing  birds  is  found  among  the  Pawnee;  Ankara;  Wichita; 
Grosventre;  Cree  (Russel,  Explorations  in  the  Far  North  p.  212);  Apache  (J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XL,  p. 
264);  Cheyenne  (J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  XIII..  p.  i6i);  Arapaho  (F.  C.  M.,  Anth.  Ser..  Vol.  V.,  Nos.  26,  27); 
Menominee  (Rep.  Bur.  of  Eth.  Vol.  XIV..  p.  162,  203);  Micmac  (Rand.  Legends  of  the  Micmacs,  p. 
263);  Algonquin  (Leland,  p.  186);  Eskimo  (Rep.  Bur.  of  Eth.,  Vol.  XL,  p.  327). 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  ii 

"What  makes  you  look  at  me  that  way?"  The  Wolf  said,  "I  would 
like  to  be  like  you,  so  I  could  eat  grass,  too."  "Well,  if  you  want  to 
be  like  me,"  said  the  Buffalo,  "I  can  make  you  so  in  a  minute."  Then 
the  Wolf  said,  "How  can  you?"  "Well,"  said  the  Buffalo,  "you  go 
over  there  and  stand  sidewise."  The  Wolf  did  so,  and  the  Buffalo 
ran  right  over  him,  and  the  Wolf  turned  into  a  Buffalo.  So  the  new 
Buffalo  started  to  eat  grass,  and  the  other  Buffalo  said,  "Friend, 
how  do  you  like  it  ? "  and  the  Wolf  Buffalo  said,  "  I  am 
awfully  proud."  Then  the  Buffalo  said,  "I  tell  you,  you  must  not 
do  this  to  another  Wolf,  or  you  will  turn  back  to  a  Wolf  again,  and 
I  can  not  change  you  any  more." 

So  the  Wolf  Buffalo  started  off,  and  met  another  Wolf,  and 
said  to  him,  "  When  you  see  me  eat  grass,  does  it  not  make  you 
feel  you  would  like  to  be  a  Buffalo  and  eat  grass  ?  "  And  the  Wolf 
said,  "I  would  be  very  glad  to  be  like  you,  but  I  do-  not  see  how  I 
can."  "Well,"  said  the  Wolf  Buffalo,  "you  go  and  stand  over  there 
and  turn  sidewise  to  me."  So  the  Wolf  did  so,  and  the  Wolf  Buf- 
falo ran  over  him,  and  he  turned  into  a  Buffalo ;  but  the  Wolf  Buf- 
falo turned  back  to  a  Wolf. 

Then  the  Wolf  started  back  to  find  the  Buffalo,  and  after  he 
had  hunted  a  while  he  found  him,  and  asked  him  to  fix  him  again. 
"What  did  I  tell  you  the  first  time,"  said  the  Buffalo,  "did  you 
mind  me,  or  not?"  "Yes,  I  did,"  said  the  Wolf.  "  But  what  made 
you  turn  to  a  Wolf  again  ?"  said  the  Buffalo.  The  Wolf  kept  asking 
the  Buffalo  to  change  him  till  the  Buffalo  got  tired  of  him,  and  said, 
"I  will  fix  you."  So  the  Wolf  stood  sidewise,  the  same  as  before, 
and  the  Buffalo  ran  over  him  and  cut  him  in  two  and  killed  him.1 

5. — The  Opossum  and  the  Skunk. 

The  Opossum  and  the  Skunk  once  lived  together.  They  were 
sisters-in-law.  "Let  us  eat  our  young  ones,"  said  the  Skunk.  So 
the  Opossum  ate  her  young  ones  first.  Then  her  sister-in-law  said, 
"Let  us  separate  from  one  another."  So  the  Skunk  started  with  her 
young  ones  over  the  world. 

The  Skunk  said,  "Two  of  us  women  were  once  living  together, 
sisters-in-law,  but  now  only  I  have  my  young  ones ;  Opossum  has 
eaten  hers  up."  Opossum  said,  "I  am  mad  that  my  dear  young 
children  are  eaten  up."  Then  the  Opossum  defecated  in  the 
Skunk's  face.     So  the  Opossum  killed  the  Skunk. 

1  Also  found  among  the  Arikara. 


12        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

6. — The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf  once  met  by  a  creek.  The  Wolf  said, 
"Hello,  brother."  And  the  Skunk  said,  "Hello."  They  talked  quite 
a  while.  Finally,  the  Wolf  said,  "Brother,  I  want  some  of  your 
bullets  to  kill  some  buffalo  with."  The  Skunk  said,  "All  right." 
They  turned  their  rumps  together,  and  the  Skunk  gave  the  Wolf 
two  loads.  The  Wolf  went  off  and  came  to  a  hickory  tree.  He 
tried  his  gun,  and  hit  the  tree  in  the  center.  He  went  on  a  good 
way,  and  came  to  a  grapevine.  He  shot  it  and  knocked  it  down. 
He  ate  the  grapes  and  went  on* 

While  the  Wolf  was  walking  along,  he  saw  about  four  Elk 
coming  toward  him.  He  said  to  himself,  "I  will  eat  something." 
So  he  waited  until1  the  Elk  arrived  in  a  ditch,  then  he  turned  his 
rump  around  toward  the  Elk,  and,  as  they  came  up,  he  tried  to 
shoot,  but  he  could  not  make  it  work.  One  of  the  Elk  said,  "There 
is  my  friend  Red-Rump."  The  Wolf  said,  "I  was  just  cooling  my 
rump." 

7. — The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf  met  one  another  on  a  road,  and  they 
said,  "  Hello,  friend."  And  they  stopped  and  had  a  long  talk.  After 
a  time,  the  Wolf  said,  "Friend,  I  want  some  of  your  bullets  that 
you  shoot."  So  they  turned  back  to  back,  and  the  Skunk  gave  the 
Wolf  about  four  shots,  and  that  was  all  he  could  spare,  and  the 
next  time,  the  Wolf  had  to  buy  them  from  him.  f 

So  the  Wolf  went  on,  and  tried  his  guru.  He  took  a  shot  at  a  tree 
and  hit  it  right  in  the  middle,  and  said  to  himself,  "Well,  I  can 
kill  a  deer."  So  he  went  to  work  and  took  a  shot  at  a  rock  that 
was  up  high,  and  he  broke  it  into  three  pieces.  This  was  the  second 
shot.  Then  he  went  on,  and  saw  a  big  Turkey,  waited  for  him  until 
he  came  about  ten  steps  from  him,  took  a  shot  at  him,  killed  him 
and  ate  him,  in  no  time. 

The  Wolf  went  on  again,  and  saw  a  Buffalo.  He  waited  for  the 
Buffalo,  and  shot  at  him,  but  the  bullet  did  not  take  effect.  Then 
he  said,  "I  ought  to  have  killed  him.  Now  I  have  missed  some 
good  meat,  but  I  will  get  the  next  one."  So  he  went  about  two 
miles,  and  saw  some  big  Elk  coming  on  a  trail.  He  lay  in  wait  for 
them  until  they  come  right  on  to  him,  but  he  did  not  have  any  load. 
He  tried  his  best  to  shoot,  but  could  not.  The  Elk  said,  "Why, 
there  is  my  friend  Red-Rump."  And  the  Wolf  said,  "I  am  just 
cooling  my  rump." 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  13 

8. — The  Bear  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Bear  and  the  Wolf  once  met  by  a  creek.  The  Wolf  said, 
"Hello,  brother."  'The  Bear  said,  "Hello,  brother."  "Where  do 
you  live?"  said  the  Wolf.  The  Bear  said,  "Quite  a  way  along  the 
creek."  The  Bear  said,  "Wrell,  I  must  go.  Come  over  and  see  me." 
So  the  Wolf  said,  "All  right." 

Next  morning,  the  \\  olf  went  over  to  see  the  Bear.  The  Bear 
had  some  young  ones.  He  killed  four  of  them  and  cooked  them 
for  the  Wolf.  The  Bear  said  to  his  wife,  "Brother  has  come."  So 
she  prepared  the  meal  for  him.  The  Bear  said:  "Go  ahead  and  eat 
your  dinner.  Swallow  no  bones,  because  it  would  make  my  young 
ones  crippled."  The  Wolf  said,  "All  right,"  but  he  swallowed  two 
bones,  one  knee,  one  wrist,  and  one  ankle.  When  they  were 
through  eating  they  were  talking,  and  the  Bear  told  his  wife  to  call 
in  his  young  ones.  She  did  so,  and  ever}-  one  was  crippled.  One 
was  crippled  in  the  rib,  another  in  the  wrist,  another  in  the  ankle, 
and  another  in  the  knee.  The  Wolf  said,  "Brother,  I  am  going; 
the  young  ones  must  be  afraid  of  me."  He  went,  but  told  his 
brother,  the  Bear,  to  come  and  see  him.    The  Bear  said,  "All  right." 

The  next  morning  the  Bear  went  to  see  the  Wolf.  Old  she 
Wolf  was  with  him.  When  the  Bear  got  there,  the  Wolf  said,  "I 
have  not  got  much  to  eat,  but  I  will  do  the  best  I  can."  So  he 
cooked  four  of  his  young  ones.  When  they  were  done  the  Bear 
began  to  eat,  and  the  Wolf  said,  "Brother,  do  not  swallow  any 
bones ;  it  makes  my  young  ones  crippled."  The  Bear  said,  "All 
right."  He  got  through  eating  without  swallowing  a  bone.  He 
handed  the  dish  back,  and  the  Wolf  said  to  his  wife,  "Well,  go  and 
get  the  young  ones."  So  she  went  after  them,  but  could  not  get 
them  back.  The  Bear  said,  "Well,  brother.  I  must  go ;  those  young 
ones  must  be  afraid  of  me." 

9. — The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Raccoon  and  the' Wolf  once  met.  The  Wolf  said:  "Hello, 
brother.  I  suppose  you  are  going  to  fool  around."  The  Raccoon 
said.  "I  am  studying  something  that  we  all  ought  to  do."  The 
Wolf  said,  "What  is  it?"  The  Raccoon  said,  "Let  us  have  con- 
nection with  one  another."  The  Wolf  said,  "All  right."  The 
Raccoon  jumped  on  the  Wolf  and  the  Wolf  began  to  defecate.  The 
Wolf  said,  "You  are  making  me  defecate."  The  Raccoon  said,  "I 
am  making  that  noise  with  my  feet."    The  Wolf  stretched  back  his 


14       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

feet.  When  the  Raccoon  was  through,  he  said,  "Let  me  stretch 
myself,  and  I  will  soon  be  ready.."  He  went  down  to  the  creek  and 
climbed  a  big  tree,  and  the  Wolf  said,  "Come,  brother."  The  Rac- 
coon said,  "I  am  sleeping;  I  will  come  later."  The  Wolf  said,  "I 
will  talk  to  white  people."  He  went  off  and  got  a  stick  and  threw 
it  at  the  Raccoon,  but. he  could  not  hit  him.  So  he  went  and  made  a 
hatchet  of  mud,  but  it  failed  to  cut  the  tree.  The  Raccoon  went  to 
sleep  in  the  fork  of  the  tree.  The  Wolf  watched  him  until  night. 
Then  he  went  off  to  sleep  by  the  tree,  while  the  Raccoon  got  down 
and  went  off.  When  the  Wolf  woke  up,  the  Raccoon  was  gone. 
The  Wolf  trailed  him,  but  the  Raccoon  went  up  another  tree.1 

10. — The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Wolf  and  the  Raccoon  met  one  day,  and  the  Wolf  said 
to  the  Raccoon,  "Hello,  friend-  How  are  you?"  And  the  Raccoon 
said,  "I  am  air  right.  How  are  you?"  The  Wolf  said,  "I  am  alj 
right.  How  can  we  have  some  fun?"  The  Raccoon  said,  "I  do  not 
know."  The  Wolf  said,  "Let  us  have  connection  with  one  another. 
Let  me  have  connection  with  you  first."  But  the  Raccoon  said,  "I 
ought  to  have  connection  first."  Finally,  the  Raccoon  got  on  top 
and  went  after  him,  and  the  Wolf  reached  back  and  touched  the 
Raccoon's  rump,  and  sa;id,  "It  will  soon  be  my  turn."  The  Rac- 
coon got  off  and  climbed  a  tree.  The  Wolf  said,  "Come  down, 
friend."  But  the  Raccoon  never  looked  at  him.  The  Wolf  stayed 
around  the  tree,  and  every  once  in  a  while  he  would  say,  "Come 
down,  for  I  was  to  have  connection  with  you."  So  after  a  while  the 
Wolf  got  mad,  and  said,  "You  do  not  know  I  talk  to  white  men." 
So  he  made  a  hatchet  out  of  mud  and  began  cutting  the  tree  down 
but  broke  his  hatchet.  The  Wolf  stayed  around  the  tree,  and  said, 
"I  will  stay  until  you  come  down."  The  Raccoon  said,  "I  will 
never  come  do^n."  The  Wolf  stayed  around  the  tree  all  day.  When 
it  came  night  he  stayed  right  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  but  when  mid- 
night came  he  went  to  sleep,  and  the  Raccoon  got  down  and  went 
off. 

Next  morning,  the  Wolf  got  up  and  looked  up  in  the  tree,  and 
missed  the  Raccoon,  and  he  said  to  himself,  "I  ought  not  to  have 
gone  to  sleep."  So  he  trailed  the  Raccoon,  but  could  not  catch  him. 
So  at  last  he  gave  up  the  chase,  and  said  to  himself,  "I  will  kill  every 
Raccoon  I  see  from  now  on." 

1  Also  found  among  the  Pawnee  and  Arikara. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  15 

11. — The  Bald-Eagle  and  the  Wolf. 

The  Bald-Eagle  and  the  Wolf  once  met.  The  Wolf  said,  "Hello, 
brother,  where  are  you  living?"  "I  am  living  in  the  bank  of  that 
creek,  so  Bald-Eagle's  brother  will  come  to  see  me,"  said  the  Bald- 
Eagle. 

Next  morning,  Bald-Eagle  was  at  home,  and  the  Wolf  said, 
"Well,  brother,  you  are  here,  and  I  have  not  much  to  eat."  The 
Bald-Eagle  flew  down  to  the  creek  near  by  and  brought  up  a  big 
fish  and  said,  "That  is  what  I  eat."  The  Wolf  said,  "That  is  good." 
The  Bald-Eagle  said,  "Well,  brother,  I  must  go."  The  Wolf  in- 
vited the  Bald-Eagle  to  come  and  see  him. 

The  Bald-Eagle  went  to  see  the  Wolf  the  next  morning  and  his 
head  was  all  white.  The  Wolf  said,  "Well,  brother,  I  told  you  to 
come  and  see  me."  So  he  jumped  in  the  creek  to  get  food,  and  was 
drowned.  The  Bald-Eagle  said,  "Well,  brother,  I  guess  you  can 
get  out  some  way."    So  he  flew  away. 

12. — The  Turtle's  War-party. 

The  turtle  went  scalp  hunting.  When  he  started  he  told  his 
wife  that  if  he  should  steal  some  mules  he  would  come  back  the 
same  day.  On  his  way,  he  met  a  Wolf.  "Where  are  you  going, 
friend?"  said  the  Wolf.  "I  am  going  scalp  hunting,"  said  the  Tur- 
tle." Said  the  Wolf,  "May  I  go  with  you?"  "Well,  if  you  can  run 
as  fast  as  I  can,  you  may  go  with  me.  Let  me  see  you  run,"  said 
the  Turtle.  So  the  Wolf  ran,  and  when  he  came  back,  the  Turtle 
said,  "Well,  you  can  run  fast  enough  to  go  with  me." 

The  Turtle  went  on,  and  met  a  Deer,  and  the  Deer  said,  "Well, 
friend,  where  are  you  going?"  The  Turtle  said,  "I  am  going  scalp 
hunting."  The  Deer  said,  "Can  I  go  with  you,  friend?"  "Well, 
if  you  can  run  as  fast  as  I  can,  you  may  go,"  said  the  Turtle.  So 
the  Deer  tried  his  running,  and  the  Turtle  said,  "You  can  run  fast 
enough  to  go  with  me.'' 

So  the  Turtle  went  on,  and  came  to  a  creek,  and  the  creek  was 
up  high.  So  he  stayed  there,  and  then  a  big  Buffalo  came  along, 
and  said  to  the  Turtle,  "Well,  friend,  where  are  you  going?"  "I 
was  going  scalp  hunting,  but  the  creek  is  high,  so  I  cannot  get 
across."  So  the  Buffalo  said,  "Well,  get  between  my  horns,  and  I 
will  take  you  across."  And  the  Turtle  said,  "If  you  should  shake 
your  head  I  would  fall."  "Well,  get  on  my  back,"  said  the  Buffalo. 
"No,"  said  the  Turtle,  "I  would  fall  off  easily."  "Then  get  in  my 
rectum,"  said  the  Buffalo."    "Well,  that  would  be  the  safest  way," 


16        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,   Vol.   VII. 

said  the  Turtle.  So  he  got.  in  and  they  started  across.  The  Turtle 
began  eating  the  Buffalo's  intestines,  and  the  Buffalo  said,  "Do  not 
do  that,  you  will  kill  me."  And  the  Turtle  said,  "No,  I  will  not; 
I  was  eating  some  corn  I  had  in  my  sack."  The  Buffalo  said, 
"Leave  some  for  me,  so  I  can  eat,  too."  When  they  got  across  the 
creek  and  were  just  crawling  up  the  bank,  the  Buffalo  fell  dead. 

The  Turtle  butchered  the  Buffalo  and  hung  him  on  a  tree,  and 
said,  "I  will  get  him  when  I  come  back."  But  the  Wolves  came 
and  saw  his  shadow  in  the  creek,  jumped  in  after  him,  and  were  all 
drowned. 

The  Turtle  went  on  till  he  came  to  a  camp.  Some  of  the  men 
found  him  and  took  him  in  camp,  and  held  council  over  him,  but 
they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  him,  and  they  said,  "Let  us  send 
for  the  death  judge."  So  they  sent  for  him,  and  he  came.  Then  one 
of  the  men  said,  "We  have  caught  this  Turtle,,  and  we  want  you  to 
think  about  his  death."  So  the  death  judge  said,  "Let  us  put  him 
in  hot  water."  But  the  Turtle  said,  "I  would  knock  the  hot  water 
on  you  men."  So  the  death  judge  said,  "Put  him  in  the  fire."  The 
Turtle  said,  "I  will  knock  coals  of  fire  on  you  men.1"  "Well,  I  do 
not  know  what  to  do  with  him,"  said  the  death  judge.  Finally,  he 
said,  "Let  us  tie  a  rock  to  him  and  throw  him  in  the  creek."  So  the 
Turtle  said,  "That  is  the  only  way  you  can  kill  me."  So  they  tied 
a  rock  to  him  and  threw  him  into  the  creek.  But  the  Turtle  got 
loose,  and  when  he  got  over  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  creek,  he 
said,  "Death  judge  must  fix  his  moccasins  good  and  start  after 
me."     So  they  let  him  go. 

The  Turtle  went  home,  and  was  under  a  log.  His  wife  came 
out  to  urinate,  and  the  Turtle  said,  "You  ought  not  to  urinate  on 
me."    So  she  got  a  rock  and  broke  him  in  pieces.1 

13. — The  Turtle's  War-party. 

The  Turtle  once  went  scalp  hunting.  He  came  to  a  creek,  and 
could  not  cross.  The  Buffalo  came  to  him,  and  said,  "Hello, 
brother."  The  Turtle  said,  "I  was  going  out  hunting  scalps,  but  I 
can  not  get  across  this  creek."  The  Buffalo  said,  "Well,  can  you 
ride  between  my  horns?"  The  Turtle  said,  "If  you  should  shake 
your  head  I  might  fall  off."  "Well,  let  me  put  you  in  my  mouth," 
the  Buffalo  said.    "No,  you  will  bite  me  and  kill  me,"  s;aid  the  Tur- 

1  This  is  told  as  two  separate  tales  by  the  Pawnee.  Turtle's  war-party  is  a  common  tale;  compare 
Dorsey,  Contr.  N.  A.  Eth..  Vol.  VI.,  p.  271;  Hoffman.  Rep.  Bur.  of  Eth.,  Vol.  XIV.,  p.  218;  Kroeber,  J. 
of  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XIII.,  p.  i8g;  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  p.  237.  See  also 
No.  13. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  17 

tie.  "Well,  go  into  my  rectum,"  the  Buffalo  said.  The  Turtle  said, 
"All  right,  I  will  be  safe  there."  So  he  crawled  into  the  Buffalo's 
rectum  and  then  the  Buffalo  started  across.  But  when  the  Buffalo 
was  half-way  across,  the  Turtle  started  to  eat  his  intestines,  and 
just  as  the  Buffalo  got  to  the  opposite  bank,  he  fell  dead.  The  Tur- 
tle came  out. 

As  the  Turtle  was  coming  out,  the  Wolf  came  along  and  said, 
"Hello,  brother."  The  Turtle  said,  "  I  was  going  scalp  hunting,  but 
J  have  killed  the  Buffalo,  so  I  am  to  have  something  to  eat."  The 
Wolf  said:  "I  am  glad  you  have  killed  him.  I  will  eat  some  of 
him."  The  Turtle  said,  "Why,  no,  you  are  able  to  kill  one  yourself 
and  I  am  not.  You  go  and  kill  one  for  yourself,  for  I  am  going  to 
eat  this  one."  The  Wolf  said,  "Let  us  try  to  jump  over  the  Buffalo  ; 
the  one  that  jumps  over  shall  eat  him."  They  jumped,  and  the 
Turtle  failed  to  get  over,  but  the  Wolf  jumped  clear  over.  The 
Turtle  lost.  The  Wolf  said,  "I  am  going  to  get  my  friend  to  help 
me  eat  the  Buffalo." 

While  the  Wolf  was  gone  the  Bear  came  along  to  where  the 
Turtle  was  and  said,  "Hello,  Turtle."  And  the  Turtle  said :  "I 
was  going  out  scalp  hunting,  and  have  killed  a  Buffalo  to  eat,  and 
the  Wolf  came  along  and  said  he  was  going  to  eat  it,  him  with  his 
friend.  He  has  gone  after  his  friend,  and  I  want  you  to  butcher  the 
Buffalo  for  me,  so  I  can  eat  him  myself,"  The  Bear  butchered  the 
Buffalo  and  hung  him  on  a  tree  that  leaned  over  a  creek. 

After  a  while  the  Wolves  came  back,  about  ten  of  them,  and  the 
leader  said,  "The  Buffalo  was  right  here."  So  the  Wolves  hunted 
for  it  all  along  the  creek.  They  found  the  Buffalo's  shadow  in  the 
clear  water.  They  all  jumped  into  the  water  but  could  not  find  any- 
thing. They  came  out  on  the  bank  again  and  studied  what  to  do. 
Again  they  could  see  the  Buffalo  in  the  water — it  was  his  shadow. 
One  of  them  said,  "I  will  tell  you  what  we  can  do :  We  can  tie  a 
big  stone  to  us  and  jump  in  the  water,  and  we  can  get  the  Buffalo 
easily,"  The  first  tied  a  stone  to  himself  and  jumped  in  the  water. 
After  a  while  excrement  came  to  the  top  of  the  water  and  the  rest 
of  the  Wolves  said,  "He  must  be  full"  So  one  after  another 
jumped  into  the  water,  and  all  were  drowned  and  died.1 

14. — The  Mourning  Frog. 

There  was  once  a  Frog  who  lost  his  wife  and  was  mourning. 
He  said  he  was  going  scalp  hunting.     He  called  in  two  old  men  and 

•  See  No.  12. 


18        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

they  gave  him  four  days  to  mourn.  They  went  home  and  the  Frog- 
went  out  mourning.  He  neither  ate  nor  drank.  When  the  four 
days  were  past  the  Frog  came  back.  He  chose  one  man  to  louse 
him,  and  two  men  to  give  him  something  to  eat.  They  decided  to 
go  the  next  morning  hunting  for  scalps. 

The  next  morning  the  man  mourning  called  his  men.  He 
hallooed  all  the  time.  They  came  in,  one  at  a  time,  but  the  head  man 
was  very  slow.  He  called  him.  He  told  one  of  the  boys  to  go  and 
get  him.  So  the  boy  went,  and  before  he  came  back  the  Frog 
heard  the  head  man  coming.  The  Frog  was  right  by  a  tree.  Light- 
ning struck  the  tree  where  the  mourning  man  was,  so  the  Frog 
jumped  in  the  creek. 

15. — The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Four  Sisters. 

Once  there  were  four  sisters  living  together,  and  one  of  them 
was  doing  the  cooking.  One  was  making  straw  mats  to  be  used  in 
the  camp,  and  one  was  making  small  mats — such  as  were  used  in 
the  feasts. 

One  time  the  cook  went  after  water  and  she  found  a  skunk.  The 
next  time  she  went  she  saw  a  raccoon,  and  the  next  time,  she  saw  a 
deer.  She  said  to  her  sister,  "I  see  some  kind  of  roe."  Another  .one 
said,  "It  is  a  deer,  let  us  butcher  it."  The  next  time  stye  saw  a 
Mountain-Lion  that  had  a  turkey  which  it  had  killed,  and  she  told 
her  sister  that  this  turkey  had  been  killed  by  this  animal.  So  the 
other  said,  "Let  us  move  away  from  here." 

They  started  away,  and  the  deer's  horns  they  left  in  the  fire. 
After  they  had  moved,  this  Mountain-Lion  came  to  the  camp  and 
said  to  himself,  "I  ought  to  have  caught  them  long  ago."  So  he 
started  on  their  trail  and  when  he  had  gone  a  little  way,  the  deer 
horns  cried  out,  "Where  are  you  going,  you  man-eater?"  So  the 
Mountain-Lion  turned  back,  and  nobody  was  there.  So  he  started 
after  these  women  again,  but  one  of  the  women  stamped  her  foot  on 
the  ground  and  there  appeared  some  apples.  When  the  Mountain- 
Lion  came  to  the  apples  he  fell  to  eating  them,  then  he  started  to 
trail  the  women  again.  One  of  the  women  did  as  before  and  made 
some  apples.  When  the  Mountain-Lion  came  to  them  he  fell  to 
eating  them,  then  he  went  on,  and  when  he  got  close  to  them  again 
one  of  the  girls  stamped  her  foot  and  made  a  big  ravine  so  that  the 
Mountain-Lion  could  not  cross.  Then  the  Mountain-Lion  asked 
the  girls  how  they  got  across  the  ravine.  The  girls  had  a  little 
stick  and  they  told  the  Mountain-Lion  that  they  had  laid  the  stick 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  19 

across  the  ravine  and  had  walked  across  on  it.  The  Mountain-Lion 
tried  his  luck,  started  across,  and  broke  the  stick  in  the  middle, 
fell  into  the  ravine,  and  could  not  get  out.1 

16. — The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Seven  Sisters. 

Seven  women  were  once  living  together  on  the  bank  of  a  creek. 
They  would  all,  in  turn,  go  after  water.  First,  the  youngest  went, 
and  on  her  way  she  saw  by  the  path  a  dead  turkey.  She  did  not 
pick  it  up.  She  went  home  and  told  her  sister,  and  her  sister  said : 
"  The  next  time  you  go,  you  bring  the  turkey ;  some  Mountain-Lion 
has  killed  it."  The  next  morning  the  next  older  sister  took  her 
turn  to  go  after  the  water.  She  saw  a  dead  deer  on  the  trail.  She 
came  back  and  told  her  sister,  who  said:  "Bring  it,  and  we  will 
eat  it ;  some  Mountain-Lion  has  killed  and  hid  it."  The  next  older 
sister  saw  a  dead  buffalo,  and  the  oldest  sister  said,  "Bring  it,  and 
we  will  eat  it."  The  next  older  sister  saw  a  dead  bear  on  the  path. 
They  butchered  it  and  roasted  and  ate  it.  When  the  next  older 
sister  went  after  water  she  saw  a  big  dead  elk  by  the  trail.  They 
butchered  it  and  ate  it.  The  next  older  sister  found  another  dead 
buffalo.    They  cooked  it  and  made  tallow. 

While  they  were  butchering  this  buffalo  they  got  excited,  and 
the  oldest  girl  said,  "Sisters,  look  out  a  little;  it  may  be  that  a 
Mountain-Lion  has  done  all  this,"  So  they  did  look  out,  and  they 
saw  a  big  Mountain-Lion  coming  down  the  creek.  He  had  a  big 
deer  on  his  back.  The  Mountain-Lion  laid  it  down,  and  went  off. 
The  youngest  sister  saw  the  Mountain-Lion.  She  said  to  her  sis- 
ter: "It  is  a  Mountain-Lion;  I  saw  him;  he  brought  the  deer  and 
went  off." 

They  were  scared  and  were  going  to  run  away.  As  they  started 
off,  each  one  had  a  little  dog.  The  Mountain-Lion  came  again,  with 
another  bear.  He  saw  the  deer  he  had  brought  the  day  before.  He 
said:  "It  makes  me  mad.  They  ought  to  have  eaten  this  deer." 
So  he  ate  the  deer  himself. 

The  Mountain-Lion  started  after  the  women.  When  he  got  to 
the  place  where  they  had  been  staying  there  was  nobody  there,  and 
the  Mountain-Lion  said:  "I  was  going  to  eat  them.  I  will  get 
them,  wherever  they  go."  So  he  started  after  them.  But  they  had 
got  a  good  way  off.  The  oldest  sister  now  gave  out.  She  said: 
"Sisters,  I  am  tired  out.  I  wish  you  would  kill  my  little  dog  and 
put  tallow  on  it."    The  Mountain-Lion  got  to  where  the  little  dog 

'  Compare  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  No.  124.    See  No.  16. 


20        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

was  killed,  and  said,  "It  makes  me  mad  to  see  that  they  have  some- 
thing good  to  eat."  So  he  ate,  and  started  after  the  sisters  again. 
The  oldest  sister  said,  "Sisters,  there  he  comes,  right  after  us." 
So  the  oldest  one  killed  another  of  the  dogs  and  put  tallow  on  it. 
The  Mountain-Lion  came  to  it  and  said,  "I  will  get  all  of  you." 
The  sisters  were  now  a  good  distance  ahead  of  the  Mountain-Lion. 
When  they  saw  him  again  they  killed  another  dog.  The  Mountain- 
Lion  came  to  where  the  dog  was,  and  ate  him.  They  gained  on  the 
Mountain-Lion  a  good  way,  but  he  soon  caught  up  with  them.  The 
girls  killed  another  dog  and  gained  on  him  again,  but  he  caught  up 
with  them  again.  They  killed  all  the  dogs  and  he  was  still  after 
them  to  eat  them.    He  had  eaten  all  the  dogs. 

The  oldest  girl  was  now  giving  out.  The  rest  waited  for  her, 
but  she  was  tired  out,  and  told  her  sisters  to  go  on  and  try  to  get 
away,  saying,  "He  will  kill  me"  So  the  Mountain-Lion  got  after 
them  again,  and  said:  "It  makes  me  mad  at  this  woman.  I  was 
feeding  them."  He  killed  the  woman  and  ate  her.  He  started 
after  her  sisters.  They  had  gotten  a  long  way  ahead,  but  he  caught 
up  with' them.  The  oldest  of  the  six  was  tired  out,  and  went  out  by 
the  road,  and  said :  "Sisters,  try  your  best  to  get  away.  I  am 
going  to  be  killed."  The  Mountain-Lion  came  to  the  girl,  killed 
her  and  ate  her,  in  no  time.  The  other  girls  had  started  on,  and 
the  oldest  one  of  the  five  gave  out,  and  turned  to  one  side:  The 
Mountain-Lion  came  along  and  killed  her  and  ate  her  up.  Now 
the  oldest  of  the  four  was  tired  out.  The  Mountain-Lion  came 
along,  killed  her  and  ate  her.  So  there  were  only  three  left.  They 
started  on.  The  oldest  one  gave  out,  and  the  Mountain-Lion  came 
upon  her  and  ate  her  up.  So  that  left  two.  These  two  went  on. 
Both  were  crying,  and  though  they  had  got  a  long  way  off,  the  Moun- 
tain-Lion was  after  them.  The  older  of  the  two  was  tired  out,  and 
told  her  sister  to  try  to  get  away.  The  Mountain-Lion  came  and 
killed  her  and  ate  her.  Now  the  youngest  was  left.  She  went  on, 
and  was  crying  all  day,  and  the  Mountain-Lion  was  right  after  her. 

The  girl  came  to  a  lodge  where  one  bad  man  was  living.  She 
told  this  man  that  a  Mountain-Lion  was  eating  them  up,  and  she 
would  like  to  be  saved.  The  man  said,  "All  right,  I  will  save  you." 
The  man  called  up  his  Dogs,  and  said:  "My  Dogs,  here  is  a  girl. 
There  were  seven  of  them,  and  a  Mountain-Lion  has  eaten  all  but- 
this  one.  She  has  asked  me  to  kill  him.  I  want  you  to  watch  my 
eyes.  If  I  look  at  him  with  my  left  eye  I  want  you  to  kill  him. 
I  will  talk  to  him."    So  the  Mountain-Lion  got  to  this  man's  lodge, 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  21 

but  would  not  go  in.  He  said:  "I  have  been  eating  some  women, 
and  one  got  away.  I  see  her  tracks,  and  she  must  be  in  your  lodge. 
If  she  is  there,  send  her  out,  so  I  can  eat  her."  The  man  said  the 
girl  was  not  there,  but  the  Mountain-Lion  knew  the  girl  was  there. 
So  he  went  closer  to  the  lodge.  The  man  looked  at  him  with  his  left 
eye  and  the  Dogs  both  jumped  right  on  the  Mountain-Lion  and  killed 
him  in  no  time. 

17. — The  Rolling  Head. 

There  was  once  a  village  whose  chief  had  a  girl  named  Michihi, 
and  one  by  the  name  of  Hokah.  A  family  bought  Michihi  that  their 
boy  might  marry  her.  After  they  had  been  married  two  days,  one 
of  the  men  of  the  village  mourned.  They  had  the  mourning  cere- 
mony. They  went  hunting  for  scalps.  The  boy,  who  had  just 
been  married,  made  up  his  mind  to  go  with  the  rest  of  the  party 
to  hunt  scalps.  He  told  his  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law  that 
he  was  going  scalp  hunting.  They  started.  They  went  a  long 
way. 

Now  this  boy  had  a  friend  that  he  used  to  go  with  before  he  had 
got  married.  So  they  went  on,  and  the}"  came  to  another  village. 
All  stopped,  and  they  were  in  three  groups.  The  boy  and  his 
friend  were  with  those  who  went  to  the  chief's  tipi.  There  was  a 
nice  pretty  girl  there  that  the  boy  at  once  liked.  All  then  went 
away  from  the  camp,  and,  as  they  were  going,  the  boy  said  to  his 
friend  that  he  was  going  to  take  that  girl  and  marry  her.  His 
friend  advised  him  not  to  do  it,  because  he  had  a  nice  woman  at 
home.  The  boy's  friend  said,  "You  might  talk  to  her,"  and  he  told 
her  he  would  like  to  marry  her,  which  he  did,  at  last.  , 

The  next  morning  the  boy's  new  father-in-law  told  him  to  invite 
all  his  friends  to  come  and  eat  with  him.  This  the  boy  did,  and 
all  ate  with  him.  The  next  morning,  the  boy  went  and  told  his 
men  that  he  did  not  want  them  to  tell  his  first  wife  that  he  was 
married  again.  All  promised  that  they  would  not.  He  told  them 
to  say  that  some  one  had  killed  him. 

All  got  home  in  a  few  days  and  they  told  that  the  boy  had  been 
killed.  The  boy's  former  wife  mourned  for  him,  cut  her  ears  off 
and  her  hair,  and  cried  all  the  time,  all  through  the  village.  The 
girl  was  very  sorry  and  would  not  forget  her  husband.  She  would 
go  without  eating  for  four  days  at  a  time.  She  cried  in  the  timber 
until  she  heard  a  Woodpecker,  saying,  "Michihi,  I  want  to  tell 
you   something."     She   got   tired   of   the  Woodpecker,  and   said: 


22        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,   Vol.   VII. 

"Well,  tell  me  what  you  are  going  to  do.  My  father  wanted  me  to 
marry  a  boy,  and  so  I  did,  and  now  he  is  killed."  The  bird  said: 
"He  is  not  dead;  he  has  gone  off  to  another  village  and  he  has 
married  another  pretty  girl"  She  cried  again  and  the  bird  said, 
"I  will  take  you  where  he  is  if  you  wish." 

When  she  got  home,  she  made  herself  some  moccasins  and  took 
her  sister-in-law  with  her.  She  told  her  father  that  she  could 
hardly  forget  her  man,  unless  she  was  out  in  the  woods.  She  went 
where  the  bird  was,  and  stayed  over  night,  and  in  the  morning 
they,  started.  The  bird  said,  "You  must  follow  right  by  me,  and  I 
will  take  you  just  where  your  man  is."  On  the  fourth  day,  the  wo- 
man's sister-in-law  got  tired,  and  the  woman  told  her  where  they 
were  going,  that  they  were  going  where  her  brother  was,  and  that  they 
might  see  him  and  bring  him  home.  They  traveled  ten  days,  and  on 
the  eleventh  day,  the  bird  said,  "At  noon  you  will  see  the  village. 
At  about  noon  you  will  camp  on  a  hill,  and  you  will  see  where  your 
husband  is,  where  he  married  another  chief's  daughter." 

The  bird  started  home,  and  the  girls  started  down  the  hill,  and 
the  sister-in-law  said,  "Where  is  he?"  The  woman  answered, 
"Well,  he  is  here,  married  to  some  one  in  this  camp."  They  went 
through  the  village.  The  dogs  barked  at  them,.  The  boy  and  his 
new  wife  came  out  to  see  them.  He  told  his  new  wife  that  this 
was  a  woman  that  his  folks  had  forced  him  to  marry. 

His  father-in-law  went  to  meet  them.  His  new  wife  cooked 
them  something  to  eat.  After  they  had  eaten,  the  old  man  asked 
the  woman  about  this  man.  The  woman  told  them  how  it  was 
that  she  had  married  this  man ;  how  he  had  started  off  scalp  hunt- 
ing; how  the  rest  of  the  party  returned  home  without  him  and  re- 
ported that  he  had  been  killed.  "Well,"  said  the  father-in-law, 
"I  did  not  know  he  had  a  wife,  for  he  never  told  us.  If  he  had  told 
us  I  would  not  have  permitted  this.  Well,  I  will  call  you  my  oldest 
daughter,  so  you  can  be  higher  than  my  own  daughter,  and  you  can  stay 
here  always  and  make  yourself  a  home." 

They  all  stayed  there  about  a  year.  The  man  went  hunting. 
When  he  came  back  he  told  his  wife  that  he  had  found  a  lot  of 
black  haws  and  grapes.  So  they  started,  and  came  to  a  creek. 
The  people  told  the  man's  new  wife  that  the  first  wife  was  going 
to  do  something;  that  her  husband  had  done  wrong  by  keeping  her 
mourning  for  a  long  time. 

Soon  after  this  the  first  wife  jumped  into  a  big  creek,  and  only 
her  head  was  visible.     She  called  her  little  sister-in-law  and  told 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  23 

her  to  put  her  head  in  a  bundle,  and  to  take  her  where  her  husband 
and  his  wife,  were,  and  to  lay  her  right  between  them.  This  the 
sister-in-law  did,  and  the  woman's  head  swallowed  both  of  them, 
and  her  stepfather  and  stepmother. 

Then  the  sister-in-law  started  home,  by  the  way  she  had  come, 
carrying  the  head  in  the  bundle.  That  night  the  head  told  the  little 
girl  not  to  be  afraid  of  anything,  saying  she  could  kill  anything. 

On  the  fourth  day,  the  head  said  to  the  little  sister-in-law,  "If 
you  see  a  big  hollow  tree  that  you  think  may  have  a  raccoon  in  it, 
you  must  throw  me  in  it.  I  will  kill  all  the  raccoons."  At  last  the 
little  girl  got  scared  of  the  head.  The  little  girl  saw  a  big  hollow 
tree.  She  threw  the  head  into  it.  The  little  girl  defecated  right 
by  the  tree.  She  started  home,  and  the  head  said,  "Are  you  there?" 
The  excrement  said,  "Yes."  The  head  started  after  the  little  girl. 
It  caught  up  with  her  in  a  short  time.  The  little  girl  threw  grease 
on  the  ground,  so  the  head  would  stop  and  eat  it.  The  little  girl 
now  had  but  just  one  drop  of  grease  left.  She  dropped  it.  The 
head  came  up  and  began  to  eat  it,  then  started  after  the  little  girl. 
The  little  girl  ran  through  a  creek,  and  came  where  there  were 
two  old  women  roasting  acornsi.  The  head  came  right  after  her, 
and  asked  the  old  women  if  anybody  had  passed  them.  The  old 
women  told  the  head  that  they  had  not  seen  the  liittle  girl.  The  old 
women  made  a  pot  of  boiling  water  and  threw  the  head  into  it  and 
killed  it.    The  little  girl  got  home  all  right.1 

18. — The  Old  Woman  and  the  Grasshopper. 
There  once  lived  together  an  old  woman  and  a  Grasshopper, 
and  the  old  woman  was  playing  sick ;  she  said  she  was  going  to 
die,  and  wanted  some  big  fat  animal  to  bury  her.  The  Grasshopper 
finally  lost  his  grandmother,  and  he  mourned,  and  said,  "Grand- 
mother, old  grandmother,  grandmother  always  said  that  she  wanted 
a  big  animal  to  bury  her."  The  Grasshopper  went  to  where  there 
was  a  herd  of  Buffalo  to  get  some  one  to  bury  his  grandmother,  and 
the  Buffalo  said,  "Well,  what  is  the  matter  with  you?"  The  Grass- 
hopper   said,  "My    grandmother    said  she    wanted    one  of    you    to 

■  The  pursuit  by  magic  flight  of  a  rolling  stone  or  skull  or  head  is  widespread.  For  pursuit  by 
rolling  head,  see  Kroeber,  J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XIII.,  p.  185:  Schoolcraft,  Hiawatha,  p.  26s;  Morice, 
Trans.  Can.  Inst.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  5;  Russell,  Explor.  Far  North,  p.  202;  Petitot,  Trad.  Ind.,  pp.  40?,  407;  Dixon 
Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist., Vol.  XVII.,  part  11.  p.  97;  Curtin,  Creation  Myths,  p.  325;  also  found  among 
the  Pawnee,  Wichita,  and  Arikara.  For  pursuit  by  rolling  skull,  see,  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Anth.  Ser., 
F.  C.  M.,  Vol.  V.,  No.  35  and  124;  also  Pawnee.  For  pursuit  by  rolling  rock,  see,  Dorsey  and  Kroeber. 
ibid.,  Nos.  32,  33,  34,  81;  Grinnell,  Blackfoot,  p.  16;;  Rand,  Micmac,  316;  Mooney,  Am.  Anthropologist, 
Vol.  XL,  p.  197;  Kroeber,  J.  A.  Folk-Lore.  Vol.  XIV.,  p.  260;  McDermott,  J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol, 
XIV.,  245:  Russell,  Explor.  Far  North,  p.  210;  also  found  among  the  Wichita. 


24        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

bury  her."  He  brought  one  of  the  Buffalo  and  it  began  to  dig  the 
grave.  The  Grasshopper  said,  "My  grandmother  said  that  she 
wanted  to  be  way  under  the  ground."  So  the  Buffalo  dug  deep, 
until  the  Grasshopper  killed  him.  He  butchered  the  Buffalo  and, 
the  old  woman  came  to  life  again.1 

19. — The  Old  Woman  and  the  Orphan  Boy. 

An  orphan  boy  and  his  grandmother  were  living  by  themselves. 
The  boy  said,  "Grandmother,  I  am  hungry  for  meat."  The  old 
woman  said,  "You  go  where  lots  of  Buffalo  are  and  tell  them  I  am 
dead ;  that  I  said  I  want  two  of  the  biggest  ones  to  bury  me."  The 
boy  came  to  the  herd  and  the  Buffalo  heard  him  crying.  They  said, 
"There  is  somebody  crying.  Somebody  must  be  dead."  The  boy 
walked  up  in  the  herd,  and  said,  "Grandmother  is  dead,  and  she 
wants  two  Buffalo  to  bury  her."  One  of  the  Buffalo  said,  "Little- 
Tail,  you  must  fix  this  boy  something  to  eat."  So  Little-Tail  defe- 
cated and  made  of  it  meat ;  another  defecated  and  made  tallow.  The 
boy  ate.  The  leader  said,  "You  go  on,  and  you  'will  come  to  an- 
other herd.     Two  or  three  will  go  with  you." 

The  boy  went  on,  and  he  came  to  another  herd.  One  of  the  old 
Buffalo  said,  "What  do  you  want?"  The  boy  said,  "My  grand- 
mother is  dead.  She  wants  two  fat  Buffalo  to  bury  her  under 
ground.']  The  old  Buffalo  said,  "You  go  around  and  pick  out  the 
two  you  want.  They  will  go  with  you."  The  boy  went  out  and 
picked  out  one  big  fat  buffalo  and  went  through  the  herd  again 
and  picked  out  another.    He  started  home  with  them. 

When  the  old  woman  heard  them  coming  she  made  out  that 
she  was  dead.  She  was  all  broken  up  and  scalp  worms  were  in  her. 
They  started  to  dig  a  grave.  The  boy  said,  "Dig  it,  for  she  said 
she  wanted  to  be  deep  under  ground."  They  got  down  about  ten 
feet,  and  the  old  woman  got  up  and  killed  them  both. 

They  butchered  the  buffalo  and  made  some  tallow.  The  boy 
took  the  feet  and  made  tracks  back  to  the  hill,  so  that  when  the 
Buffalo  should  come  to  see  about  it  he  might  say,  "They  started 
home  a  long  time  ago." 

20. — The  Rabbit  and  the  Picture. 
There  were  once  some  men  digging  a  well.     At  evening,  they 
went  home,  and  there  came  a  Rabbit,  to  get  a  drink  from  the  well. 
The  next  day,  the  men  came  out  to  work  on  the  well.    When  they 

1  See  No.  19. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  25 

got  to  the  well,  they  saw  the  Rabbit's  tracks.  All  studied  as  to 
what  they  should  do.  When  evening  came  they  went  home  again 
and  said  that  if  the  Rabbit  should  come  again  to  the  well  they 
would  track  him.  The  Rabbit  came  again,  and  they  came  to  work, 
and  saw  the  tracks.  They  said,  ''We  must  do  something  to  the 
Rabbit."  So  they  drew  the  picture  of  a  girl,  and  left  it  where  the 
well  was.  Then  they  returned  home,  while  the  Rabbit  should  re- 
turn to  the  well  for  another  drink.  The  Rabbit  returned  to  the 
well,  saw  the  picture  of  the  girl,  and  said  he  wanted  to  drink  very 
bad.  The  girl  listened  to  the  Rabbit,  but  did  not  say  anything. 
Then  the  Rabbit  would  say,  "Girl,  I  want  a  drink.  You  listen  to 
me ;  you  ought  to  give  me  a  drink !  If  you  do  not,  I  will  whip  you 
till  I  have  nearly  killed  you."  The  Rabbit  hit  the  girl  with  his 
right  foot.  It  stuck  fast  to  the  girl.  The  Rabbit  said,  "Turn  me 
loose !  or  I  will  hit  you  with  my  other  hand."  So  the  Rabbit  hit 
the  girl  with  his  left  foot,  and  it  stuck  to  the  girl's  face.  The  Rab- 
bit said,  "Turn  me  loose !  or  I  will  kick  you  and  that  will  hurt.''  So  the 
Rabbit  kicked  the  girl  with  his  right  leg,  and  it  stuck  to  the  girl.  The 
Rabbit  said,  "Turn  me  loose !  or  I  will  kick  you  with  my  left  leg, 
and  sure  enough,  that  will  hurt  you."  So  the  Rabbit  kicked  the 
girl  with  his  left  leg,  and  it  stuck  to  the  girl's  picture.  The  Rabbit 
said,  "If  you  do  not  turn  me  loose  I  will  bite  you !"  So  the  Rabbit 
bit  the  girl,  and  his  mouth  got  stuck  to  her. 

When  the  men  came  back  to  work,  they  saw  the  Rabbit  stuck  to 
the  girl's  picture,  and  they  said,  "See,  we  have  got  him."  So  they 
threw  the  Rabbit  and  the  girl's  picture  away. 

21. — The  Woman  who  married  her  Son. 

Once  there  was  a  camp,  and  just  as  they  were  starting  on  a 
deer  hunt,  a  woman  died,  and  the  people  buried  her.  But  her  boy 
was  away,  visiting  other  Indians.  After  the  people  had  left  the 
camp,  the  boy  returned,  and  this  dead  woman  was  there,  alive.  So 
they  both  started  in  the  direction  the  Indians  had  gone.  But  the 
woman  had  dressed  herself  as  a  man  and  in  the  Indians'  style ;  the 
woman  and  the  boy  were  dressed  alike. 

When  they  came  to  the  camp,  the  old  Indians  wanted  to  see  the 
boy,  and  they  said,  "The  boy  that  went  to  see  those  Indians  has 
come  back."  It  was  thought  that  this  boy  and  woman  were  mar- 
ried ;  so  the  Indians  wanted  them  to  eat,  and  everybody  went  to 
see  them. 

This  woman  had  left  five  children,  so  when  she  saw  them,  she 


26        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

said,  "I  feel  sorry  for  these  children,  for  their  mother  is  dead." 
So  she  gave  them  some  meat,  and  when  they  went  back  they  told 
their  father  that  the  Indian  woman  was  very  good  to  them,  and 
said,  "Father,  let  us  invite  them  to  come  over  and  eat  with  us." 
Then  the  old  man  told  the  girls  to  cook,  and  they  invited  her.  After 
the  woman  had  come  and  gone,  one  of  the  girls  said  to  her  father, 
"That  woman  is  my  mother,  for  she  has  got  that  scar  on  her  leg."  They 
all  started  to  move  camp,  and  this  woman  and  man  would  stay  back 
behind.  So  the  father  of  the  children  waited  for  them  on  the  road, 
and  killed  them  both.1 

22. — The  Woman  who  tried  to  marry  her  Son-in-Law. 

Once  there  was  a  man  living  by  the  big  water.  He  was  a  deer 
hunter.  He  would  go  out  and  kill  wild  turkeys  and  bring  them  in. 
Finally  his  mother-in-law  fell  in  love  with  him.  There  was  a  swing 
by  the  water,  and  the  old  woman  and  her  daughter  would  swing 
across  it  and  back,  After  a  while,  the  old  woman  partially  cut  the 
rope,  so  that  it  would  break.  While  the  husband  was  out  hunting 
one  day  the  old  woman  said  to  her  daughter,  "Let  us  go  to  the 
swing,  and  have  some  fun."  The  old  woman  got  in  first,  and 
swung  across  the  water  and  back.  Then  the  girl  got  in  the  swing 
and  she  swung  across  all  right,  but  when  she  was  half  way  back, 
the  rope  broke  in  two,  and  the  girl  fell  into  the  water  and  was 
drowned. 

The  old  woman  went  home  and  got  supper  for  her  son-in-law. 
The  man  came  in  just  at  dark,  and  he  missed  his  wife,  and  said, 
"Mother-in-law,  where  is  my  wife?"  The  old  woman  said,  "She 
has  gone  to  the  swing,  and  has  not  yet  returned."  The  old  woman 
began  to  prepare  supper  for  her  son-in-law.  The*  man  said,  "Do 
not  give  me  any  supper."  So  he  started  to  cry.  The  old  woman 
said,  "Do  not  cry,  she  is  dead,  and  we  cannot  help  it.  T  will  take 
care  of  the  baby.  Your  wife  got  drowned,  so  she  is  lost  entirelv." 
The  man  cut  off  his  hair  and  threw  his  leggings  away  and  his  shirt, 
and  was  mourning  for  his  wife.  He  would  go  out,  and  stay  a 
week  at  a  time  without  eating.  He  became  very  poor.  Finally  he 
said  he  was  going  off  to  stay  several  days ;  that  he  could  not  help 
thinking  of  his  wife.  He  went  off  and  stayed  several  days,  and 
when  he  came  home  he  would  cry  all  the  time. 

1  In  the  more  common  form  of  this  tale,  a  father  marries  his  daughter;  in  one  tale,  a  man  marries 
his  stepdaughter:  See  Dorse}  and  Kroeber  (Arapaho),  Anth.  Ser.,  F.  C.  M.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  82;  Kroeber 
(Ute),  J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XIV.,  p.  268;  Matthews  (Navaho),  Am.  Antiq.,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  271;  Dixon 
(Maidu),  J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XIII.,  p.  270;  Farrand  (Chilcotin),  Mem.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  History,  Vol. 
IV.,  p.  17.;  Petitot  (Hare),  Trad.  Ind.,  p.  219. 


Jeb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  27 

One  time,  when  he  was  out  mourning,  a  rain  and  thunderstorm 
came  up,  and  Lightning  struck  all  around  the  tree  he  was  sitting 
under.  He  went  back  home  and  saw  his  baby,  but  stayed  out  of 
his  sight.  Again  he  went  out,  and  it  rained  and  thundered,  and  he 
went  up  by  a  big  tree  and  Lightning  struck  a  tree  near  by  him. 
The  Lightning  left  him  a  club,  and  said,  "Man,  I  came  here  to  tell 
you  about  your  wife  for  whom  you  are  mourning.  You  do  not 
know  where  she  is,  or  how  she  came  to  be  missing.  That  old  wo- 
man drowned  her  in  the  big  water.  The  old  woman  broke  the 
rope  and  the  girl  is  drowned  in  the  big  water.  This  club  you  must 
keep  in  a  safe  place.  I  was  sent  here  to  you,  and  I  will  help  you 
get  your  wife  back,  and  you  must  not  be  afraid  of  the  big  water. 
Go  ahead  and  try  to  get  her,  and  the  fourth  day  you  will  get  her 
all    right." 

The  man  went  to  the  big  water,  and  he  saw  his  wife  out  in  the 
water,  and  she  said,  "I  cannot  get  to  you.  I  am  tied  here  with 
chains.  I  am  going  to  come  up  four  times.''  The  next  time  she 
came  out  half  way.  She  said,  "Bring  me  the  baby,  and  I  will  let 
her  nurse."  So  the  man  took  the  baby  to  her  mother  and  let  her 
nurse.  The  woman  said,  "They  are  pulling  me,  and  I  must  go. 
But  the  next  time  you  must  get  me."  So  she  came  out  the  third 
time  up  to  her  knees.  The  man  took  the  baby  to  her  and  let  it 
nurse  again.  The  woman  said,  "I  have  got  to  go  back.  They  are 
pulling  me  by  the  chains.  I  must  go,  but  the  next  time  will  be  the 
last.  I  want  you  to  try  your  best  to  get  me."  The  man  said,  "I 
am  going  to  get  you,  without  doubt."  The  woman  came  out  the 
fourth  time,  and  the  man  hit  the  chain  with  the  club  and  it  seemed 
as  though  lightning  struck  it,  and  broke  it.    He  got  his  wife. 

So  they  went  home,  and  the  old  woman  said,  "My  daughter, 
you  have  got  home."  But  the  woman  said  not  a  word.  Then  the 
man  heated  an  arrow  red-hot  and  put  it  through  the  old  woman's 
ears.     So  they  killed  the  woman. 

23. — The  Woman  who  married  a  Buffalo. 

Once  there  was  a  pretty  girl.  The  Indians  tried  to  buy  her  for 
their  boys,  but  her  parents  refused  to  sell  her.  A  man  was  talking 
to  this  girl.  While  she  was  going  after  water,  the  man  waited  for 
her  at  the  creek.  He  talked  with  her  and  told  her  he  would  like  to 
marry  her.  She  told  the  man  that  her  father  had  refused  good 
young  men,  but  she  would  run  off  with  him  the  next  time  she  came 
.  for  water.     So  the  man  said  he  would  be  there,  waiting  for  her. 


28        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,   Vol.   VII. 

The  girl  went  after  water  again,  and  the  man  was  there  at  the 
creek,  waiting.  The  girl  was  dressed  up  in  her  best  clothes.  She 
went  off  with  the  man. 

They  went  a  long  way,  and  the  girl  gave  out.  Her  moccasins 
were  worn  out.  She  sat  down  to  rest.  Then  the  man  said,  "I  am 
not  a  man,  I  am  a  Buffalo."  The  girl  began  to  cry,  and  said,  "You 
have  made  me  ruin  my  father  and  mother.  They  will  think  that 
I  am  dead." 

They  started  again.  They  stopped,  and  the  man  said,  "You 
-must  stay  right  here  until  I  come  back."  So  the  man  told  the  girl 
not  to  be  afraid  of  him,  and  went  over  a  hill.  When  he  came 
back,  he  was  a  Buffalo,  and  the  girl  was  afraid  of  him.  So  he  made 
her  ride  between  his  horns.  As  he  went  on,  he  said,  "My  partner  is 
over  here."  When  they  came  to  his  partner,  they  found  him  dead, 
and  decayed,  and  worms  were  in  him.  The  Buffalo  said,  "My 
partner  is  dead."  So  he  turned  himself  into  a  man  again.  He 
made  a  bow  and  arrows  and  went  to  shooting  at  the  dead  Buffalo. 
He  shot  him  once.  The  dead  Buffalo  moved.  The  next  time  the 
Buffalo  shot  him  he  raised  his  head.  The  next  time  he  shot  him 
he  got  up  on  his  feet  and  shook  the  worms  off  from  himself. 

The  two  Buffalo  went  off,  carrying  the  girl  between  their  horns. 
When  they  were  a  long  way  off,  they  stopped,  and  the  girl  sat 
down.  The  Buffalo  said,  "You  must  stay  here.  We  are  going  off. 
You  must  not  be  afraid."  So  they  went  off.  When  they  came 
back  they  licked  the  girl  all  over,  and  the  girl  gave  birth  to  a  little 
one,  which  was  a  Buffalo. 

There  was  one  Buffalo  who  was  mean,  and  his  name  was  "One- 
Rib,"  and  he  would  take  from  the  other  Buffalo  what  they  had. 
So  he  took  the  girl.  He  went  off  with  her,  and  the  other  Buffalo 
started  after  them.  Every  time  they  caught  up  with  them,  One-Rib 
would  make  a  wide  ditch,  so  they  could  not  get  over.  Then  One- 
Rib  would  turn  back  and  tell  the  father  to  go  around  to  the  right 
hand  side,  where  he  could  get  across.  So  One-Rib  said,  "He  is 
crazy  to  get  across  the  place  I  dug.  I  will  make  two  women,  and 
put  them  with  the  girl,  and  if  he  can  tell  his  wife  from  the  others 
he  may  have  her  back."  The  girl  told  her  young  one  to  tell  his 
father  that  One-Rib  was  going  to  make  two  women  to  put  with 
her,  and,  if  he  could  tell  her  from  the  other  two,  he  might  take  her 
back.  She  also  told  her  child  to  tell  his  father  that  when  he  should 
look  at  them  she  was  to  move  her  right  ear.  One-Rib  made  the  two 
women,  and  the  Buffalo  came  to  look  at  them.    The  girl  moved  her 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  29 

right  ear.  So  the  Buffalo  said,  "This  is  my  wife."  So  One-Rib 
said,  "You  are  a  smart  one.    You  go  ahead  and  take  her  away." 

The  Buffalo  took  her  away  and  went  off.  He  stopped  at  a  place 
and  left  the  girl  and  the  little  Buffalo  and  went  off  somewhere. 
While  they  were  sitting  there,  she  heard  a  man  crying,  and  so  she 
started  to  cry.  The  little  Buffalo  said,  "Mother,  what  are  you  cry- 
ing about  ?  "  She  said,  "  Your  father  is  the  cause  of  my  sorrow  to- 
day. That  is  my  uncle  crying,  and  that  is  the  reason  I  am  crying. 
I  am  going  home  where  he  is."  So  the  little  Buffalo  said,  "I  want 
to  go  with  you."  The  Buffalo  returned,  and  the  girl  and  her  boy 
went  back  where  the  Buffalo  lived.  The  girl  told  her  young  one 
that  the  next  night,  at  midnight,  she  would  wake  him,  and  he  must 
not  cry,  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  doing.  When  the  Buffalo  had 
gone  to  sleep,  the  girl  woke  the  little  Buffalo.  He  got  up,  and  went 
with  her,  without  crying.     They  started  for  home. 

When  the  Buffalo  woke  they  missed  the  girl.  They  took  after 
her.  The  girl  came  to  a  tree.  She  climbed  the  tree,  and  left  the 
young  one  right  at  the  base  of  the  tree,  covered  with  lots  of  grass.  The 
Buffalo  came  and  went  past,  and  when  they  had  camped  they  came 
back.  The  husband  turned  himself  into  a  man.  He  was  going  past 
the  girl.  She  said,  "There  is  your  father ;  call  him."  Her  man  came 
where  they  were,  and  said,  "Why  do  you  want  to  go  home?  Well,  I 
will  take  you  home  pretty  soon." 

He  started  back  to  his  camp  with  her.  When  they  were  almost 
to  the  camp,  she  went  on  home,  and  the  other  Buffalo  turned  and 
went  another  way.  She  got  home  in  the  night,  with  her  husband 
and  the  little  Buffalo  boy\ 

The  girl  said,  "Mother,  I  have  come  back  home."  Her  father 
said,  "That  must  be  the  girl  we  lost."  The  girl  said,  "I  am  the  one. 
I  have  been  married  to  a  Buffalo.  He  is  here.  I  also  have  a  little 
son."  Her  father  said,  "Where  is  he?"  She  said,  "He  is  here,  hid- 
den." Her  father  told  her  to  go  and  get  him.  So  the  little  Buf- 
falo turned  himself  into  a  boy  and  she  brought  him.  He  stayed 
with  them,  killed  many  deer,  would  give  his  grandmother  water  to 
drink,  would  take  a  little  bucket  and  carry  it  with  his  horns.  So 
the  little  Buffalo's  father  said,  "  Father-in-law,  I  do  not  want  any- 
body to  whip  my  baby."  The  little  Buffalo  played  with  the  girls 
and  boys,  and  the  little  boys  would  put  blankets  on  him  and  fool 
him,  time  after  time.  He  got  tired  of  them,  and  he  kicked  one  boy. 
The  boy  got  mad,  cried,  and  called  the  little  Buffalo  names.  The 
little  Buffalo  did  not  like  it,  and  started  to  cry.     His  grandmother 


30        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

would  put  him  on  her  back,  but  he  would  not  stop  crying.  His 
father  said,  "Father-in-law,  I  do  not  like  that,  because  they  made 
him  cry.  I  am  going  to  take  him  with  me."  So  the  man  turned  him- 
self back  into  a  Buffalo  and  started  off  with  his  little  one.  So  every 
Buffalo  that  was  in  the  camp  turned  into  buffalo  and  went  off  with 
them.1 

24. — The  Girl  and  the  Mountain-Lion. 

Once  a  girl  named  Mitsihi  was-  going  to  leave  her  people,  and  she 
had  a  crier  to  call  for  certain  women  to  come.  When  they  came,  she 
told  them  that  her  mother  had  whipped  her ;  that  she  was  going  to  leave 
them ;  and  that  this  was  what  she  wanted  to  tell  them.  One  of  the 
women  said,  "Why,  Mitsihi,  you  shall  not  go  by  yourself,  I  am  going 
along  with  you.  I  will  go  too."  Another  said,  "Mitsihi,  you  are  the 
only  one  that  I  like,  and  I  hate  to  see  you  go ;  so  I  will  go  along,  too." 
At  last,  the  crier  said,  "Well,  I,  too,  am  going  with  you  girls." 

They  all  started  off,  and  when  they  stopped  over  night,  one  of  the 
women  was  missing.  So  Mitsihi  said,  "We  all  said  that  we  were  not 
to  turn  back,  and  now  one  of  us  has  gone  back  already."  Then  they 
went  on,  and  they  stopped  for  the  night  again,  and  in  the  morning, 
Mitsihi  said,  "Another  one  has  turned  back."  They  went  on  again  and 
stopped  for  the  night.  Again  there  was  one  missing  in  the  morning. 
Mitsihi  said  the  same  words  again.  So  they  started  again  and  camped 
for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning,  the  crier  was  missing.  Mitsihi  said, 
"We  all  promised  not  to  turn  back,  but  there  are  only  two- of  us  left." 
They  both  began  crying.  So  they  went  on  again,  and  soon  the  other 
woman  was  missing.    So  Mitsihi  was  alone,  but  she  started  on,  crying. 

While  she  was  going  along,  a  bird  in  a  tree  said,  "Mitsihi,  I  want 
to  tell  you  something."  Mitsihi  said,  "What  do  you  want  to  tell  me? 
Go  ahead,  and  say  what  it  is."  And  the  bird  said,  "You  have  missed 
five  of  your  friends,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  has  become  of  them :  A 
Mountain-Lion  has  eaten  them.  You  go  and  get  in  that  hole  in  that 
big  rock,  and  put  a  big  rock  in  front  of  the  hole,  and  the  Mountain- 
Lion  will  come  to  the  door  at  midnight."  So  Mitsihi  did  as  she  was 
told.  At  midnight,  the  Mountain-Lion  came  to  the  door,  and  said, 
"Mitsihi,  open  this  door  for  me."  Mitsihi  said,  "Come  closer  to  the 
door."  So  the  Mountain-Lion  came  closer,  and  Mitsihi  pushed  the 
rock  over  on  him  and  killed  him,  and  the  Mountain-Lion  had  the 
women's  bodies  in  him. 

Mitsihi  then  went  on  crying,  and  she  came  to  a  girl  baby,  but  she 

1  Compare  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  No.  12. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  31 

did  not  pick  it  up.  Again  she  went  on  crying,  and  she  found  another 
girl  baby,  but  she  let  it  alone  also,  and  she  came  to  another  girl  baby, 
but  she  did  not  pick  it  up,  and  she  went  on  and  found  the  fourth  girl 
baby,  but  she  did  not  pick  it  up.  She  went  on  again,  and  found  a  boy 
baby.  She  picked  him  up  and  carried  him  with  her  and  built  him  a 
tipi.     Finally,  the  boy  was  big  enough  to  use  a  bow  and  arrow. 

So  Mitsihi  made  a  bow  and  some  arrows  for  the  boy.  The  boy 
went  out  to  shoot  birds.  He  killed  a  bird,  but  did  not  know  what  it 
was;  but  his  mother  said  it  was  a  jay  bird.  He  went  out  and  killed 
another  bird,  and  said,  "Here  is  something  I  killed,  but  I  am  afraid  of 
it."  His  mother  said,  "It  is  a  blackbird."  He  went  again,  and  killed 
another  bird. 

Now  his  mother  wanted  to  name  her  child,  so  she  got  an  Owl  to  go 
and  get  all  kinds  of  birds  to  come.  The  birds  all  got  together  and 
were  waiting  for  the  Eagles.  The  Owl  said,  "I  want  to  name  the  child, 
so  I  will  give  him  my  name, — it  shall  be  Owl."  The  birds  got  mad,  be- 
cause the  Owl  named  the  boy,  and  they  all  made  fun  of  the  Owl. 

The  boy  grew  to  be  a  man  and  killed  deer,  and  he  was  a  fine-looking 
man.  He  went  off  hunting,  and  found  a  camp,  so  he  did  not  return 
home.1 

25. — The  mourning  Woman  and  her  Lover. 

There  were  once  a  man  and  a  woman  living  together.  The  man 
died.  The  woman  grieved  much  over  the  death  of  her  man.  She  cried 
all  the  time. 

The  Indians  went  buffalo  hunting.  They  returned  with  buffalo 
and  camped  on  a  hill  where  there  was  a  creek.  There  was  a  big  elm 
tree  out  by  itself.  The  woman  was  still  mourning  for  her  husband. 
She  always  went  out  to  this  elm  tree  and  cried  under  it.  Every  time 
she  went  there  she  would  find  some  one,  and  they  would  have  a  good 
time. 

Two  boys  saw  her  going  many  times  to  the  tree.  One  said  to  the 
other,  "Friend,  we  had  better  watch  that  woman  who  is  mourning  for 
her  husband,  for  I  think  she  is  doing  something."  They  started  to  the 
tree  and  climbed  it.  They  were  in  it  all  day.  They  heard  the  woman 
crying  at  the  camp.  She  started  to  the  tree,  and  one  of  the  boys  saw 
she  was  coming,  and  said,  "She  is  going  to  do  something  funny,  and 
you  must  not  laugh."  She  got.  there,  under  the  elm  tree  and  looked 
back  toward  the  camp.  She  sat  down  and  looked  again,  to  see  if  her 
lover  was  coming.     Sure  enough,  he  was  coming.     He  wore  a  black 

1  Compare  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  No.  45. 


32        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,   Vol.   VII. 

blanket,  an  eagle  feather  on  his  head,  and  his  dress  was  a  fine  one. 
He  came  to  where  the  woman  was,  and  the  woman  said:  "I  was 
waiting  for  you.  What  were  you  doing?"  The  boy  said,  "Wait,  I 
want  to  take  off  my  clothes."  He  went  where  the  woman  was,  and  they 
lay  together.  Then  the  woman  said,  "I  want  more."  So  she  lay  down 
again,  and  they  acted  like  horses.  The  boy  smiled  at  her  and  she 
kicked  like  a  mare.  They  were  together  a  long  time.  The  sun  was 
going  down.  The  boy  smiled  at  the  woman  again  and  lifted  his  head 
up,  and  he  saw  the  two  boys  up  in  the  tree.    He  got  up  and  ran. 

The  woman  said,  "What  is  the  matter.  Come  back.  I  will  not 
kick  any  more."  Just  as  the  boy  was  going  to  the  brush  he  looked 
back  and  pointed  up  in  the  tree,  and  she  looked  up  in  the  tree  and  saw 
the  boys.  She  would  not  go  and  get  her  dress,  but  she  stayed  right 
on  the  ground.  One  of  the  boys  said,  "Old  woman,  get  your  dress 
and  go  home."  She  said,  "We  were  here  under  this  shade  tree,  but 
we  did  not  suspect  there  was  anybody  else."  So  the  boys  went  home 
that  night.  The  boy  that  acted  like  a  horse  died  the  same  night.  The 
next  night,  the  woman  died. 

26. — The  Deceived  Boy. 

A  boy  and  his  grandmother  were  living  together.  One  day  the  boy 
went  hunting  with  the  old  woman,  and  they  found  a  deer.  The  boy 
shot  at  the  deer  and  killed  it.  "Grandmother,"  said  he,  "did  I  kill 
him?"  The  old  woman  said,  "No,  he  ran  off."  So  they  started  home. 
The  boy  went  hunting  again.  The  old  woman  had  some  white  beans 
cooking ;  so  she  went  over  and  got  a  piece  of  meat  from  the  dead  deer, 
to  cook  with  the  beans.  When  the  boy  got  back  from  hunting,  she  gave 
him  supper,  and  the  boy  said  to  the  old  woman,  "These  beans  smell 
like  meat."  The  old  woman  said,  "Do  not  say  that,  because  we  have  no 
meat  to  cook."  The  boy  said  again,  "These  beans  smell  like  meat  to 
me."  So  the  boy  said,  "Grandmother,  give  me  my  meat."  Then  the 
boy  said,  "My  grandmother  hid  the  deer  that  I  killed,  and  just  gave  me 
some  beans,  but  I  can  smell  the  deer  meat  just  the  same.1 

27. — The  Boy  and  Old  Cheat. 

Once  there  was  an  Indian  town  in  which  lived  Old  Cheat.  Old 
Cheat  would  take  all  the  pretty  girls  and  fine  horses  the  people  had. 
There  was  once  a  boy  and  his  grandfather  out  butchering  a  buffalo, 

1  Compare  Kroeber  and  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  Nos.  126,  128;  Kroeber,  Cheyenne, 
J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  169;  Farrand,  Chilcotin,  p.  35;  Morice,  Trans.  Can.  Inst.,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  171; 
Boas.  Indianische  Sagen,  p.  229;  Petitot,  Traditions,  pp.  84,  226;  Holm,  Sagn,  p.  31;  Kink,  Tales,  p  09, 
Boas,  6th  Rep.  Bur.  Ethn.,  p.  62;. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  33 

and  there  were  lots  of  Indians  out  killing  buffalo.  Old  Cheat  would 
take  his  wife  out  with  him,  to  get  all  the  buffalo  tongues.  And  so  he 
came  to  this  boy.  The  old  man,  being  afraid  of  Old  Cheat,  had  told 
his  grandson  to  have  the  tongue  ready  for  him.  But  the  boy  said,  "I 
am  not  going  to  do  it,  grandfather."  Then  the  old  man  said,  "Why 
not?  He  is  an  Old  Cheat,  and  he  will  kill  you  if  you  do  not."  Then 
said  the  boy,  "I  will  kill  him,  and  if  I  do  not,  I  will  beat  him  out  of  his 
wife."  And  the  old  man  said,  "Why,  you  cannot  do  anything  like  that, 
nor  can  any  other  man." 

So  Old  Cheat  got  off  his  horse  and  started  for  the  boy,  and  the 
old  man  cried.  But  the  boy  stamped  his  foot  on  the  ground  so  that 
Old  Cheat  was  paralyzed.  And  Old  Cheat  said,  "Boy,  I  will  give  you 
one  of  my  wives."  But  the  boy  said,  "I  will  take  the  one  I  want  when 
I  get  to  the  camp."    Old  Cheat  said,  "No,  you  cannot." 

When  the  boy  got  back  to  the  camp  he  went  to  Old  Cheat's  tipi 
and  took  one  of  his  wives,  and  he  took  the  prettiest  one  he  had.  This 
made  Old  Cheat  mad,  and  he  said,  "I  will  kill  him  this  time !"  So  he 
started  to  get  his  wife ;  but  the  boy  and  the  girl  reached  the  camp  just 
before  he  got  there. 

The  boy  said  to  the  girl,  "Get  those  two  lice  off  from  my  head."  So 
the  girl  took  them,  and  they  were  red  and  blue.  The  boy  threw  them 
at  Old  Cheat,  when  they  turned  into  Mountain-Lions,  and  they  killed 
Old  Cheat  in  a  little  while.  So  the  people  got  back  their  horses  and 
girls  and  they  gave  the  girl  to  the  boy.1 

28. — The  Boy  and  his  Dog. 

Five  of  the  boys  of  a  family  went  hunting  one  day,  to  stay  four  or 
five  days.  One  boy  stayed  at  home  with  the  old  folks  and  his  sisters- 
in-law.  One  of  the  boys  who  went  on  the  hunt  told  the  small  boy, 
who  was  to  stay  at  home,  that  he  should  set  the  grass  on  fire  if  anything 
should  happen  at  home  before  they  returned.  So  the  small  boy  stayed, 
and  took  care  of  the  tipi.  Just  before  the  boys  came  back  from  the 
hunt,  the  Pawnee  came  and  got  the  women  and  burned  the  old  woman 
and  the  old  man,  and  started  off  with  the  young  women. 

So  the  boy  did  as  he  had  been  told  to  do,  and  the  rest  of  the  boys 
saw  the  smoke.  They  returned,  but  when  they  got  there,  there  was 
nothing  left  but  the  boy  and  his  Dog.  Then  the  boys  said,  "How  long 
have  they  been  gone?"    "Just  a  little  while,"  said  the  small  boy. 

Then  they  started  on  the  run  along  the  trail,  and  kept  it  up  for  two 

1  The  Pawnee  have  a  similar  tale.  Compare  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho, 
No.  12. 


34        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

days,  and  at  last  they  saw  where  the  enemy  had  camped.  They  started 
on  again  and  camped.  Then  the  youngest  boy  said  to  his  brothers, 
"You  boys  must  stay  here,  and  I  will  go  about  a  mile,  and  turn  round 
and  come  back."  So  he  went,  and  took  his  Dog  with  him,  and  they 
went  about  a  hundred  yards  and  stopped,  and  the  Dog  said  to  his 
master,  "You  must  stay  here.  I  will  go  and  see  if  I  can  get  on  the 
right  trail  of  them."  So  the  Dog  started  and  came  back  in  a  little 
while  and  told  his  master  that  he  had  seen  where  the  enemy  had 
camped  the  last  night,  and  that  the  fire  was  still  burning.  So  they 
went  back  and  told  the  rest  of  the  boys,  who  started  on  a  run,  and  kept 
it  up  all  night,  stopping  early  in  the  morning.  Again  the  youngest 
brother  said  that  he  would  go  in  advance,  as  before,  and  the  Dog  told 
him  that  he  would  go  and  see  how  far  behind  they  were.  The  Dog 
went  on,  and  he  saw  the  smoke  from  the  enemy's  fire,  turned  round  and 
came  back.  He  told  his  master  that  he  had  seen  the  smoke,  and  to 
tell  his  brothers  that  they  had  caught  up  with  the  enemy.  When  he 
had  done  this,  they  all  started,  and  ran  all  night,  and  stopped  about 
daybreak. 

The  boy  and  his  Dog  went  down  to  the  creek,  and  the  Dog  told  his 
master  that  he  was  going  to  "Hoo  Hoo !"  just  like  a  wolf,  and  after  the 
fourth  time  the  Wolves  would  come  from  all  directions  and  catch  the 
Pawnee ;  and  he  told  his  master  to  tell  his  brothers  to  make  wooden 
clubs  to  break  the  Pawnee's  heads  with.  Then  the  Dog  went  about  a 
mile  and  "Hoo — d !"  four  times,  and  the  fourth  time,  the  Wolves  came 
from  all  directions  and  jumped  on  the  Pawnee,  bit  them  on  the  throat 
and  killed  them.  After  this  had  happened,  the  boys  came  up  and 
scalped  the  Pawnee,  and  then  they  went  home  with  their  women. 

29. — The  Boy  and  Big-Nest. 

Once  there  was  a  camp  on  a  big  creek,  and  every  night  the  people 
would  miss  somebody,  but  they  could  not  find  out  what  became  of  the 
missing  ones.  After  a  while,  they  found  out  that  it  was  some  beast, 
who  lived  near  the  creek,  that  carried  them  off.  It  was  called  "Wausk- 
tah"  (Big-Nest).  After  a  few  days  they  caught  this  big  man-eater 
and  put  him  in  a  little  house  where  no  one  could  see  him. 

One  day  some  boys  were  playing  shinny  near  the  little  house,  and 
one  of  the  boys  happened  to  roll  his  ball  inside  of  this  house.  He  took 
a  stick  and  tried  to  get  it  back  out,  but  he  could  not  even  touch  the  ball. 
He  remained  near  the  house  after  the  other  boys  had  gone  home.  He 
stayed  and  cried  all  day.  Finally  Big-Nest  said,  "Boy,  if  you  will  open 
the  door  and  let  me  out,  I  will  give  you  back  your  ball."    But  the  boy 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  35 

said,  ''I  am  afraid  I  will  get  a  whipping."  Then  Big-Nest  said,  "If  you 
will  go  with  me,  I  will  give  you  something  that  will  make  you  power- 
ful, if  you  will  leave  your  people."  So  the  boy  finally  opened  the  door, 
and  Big-Nest  started  right  out  for  the  creek. 

At  evening,  the  men  came  to  see  if  the  man-eater  was  in  the  house, 
but  he  was  gone,  and  the  boy's  father  said,  "Did  you  let  that  Big-Nest 
get  out  or  not?"  The  boy  said,  "Yes."  So  the  boy's  father  said,  "You 
get  out,  and  stay  away  from  here."  Then  the  boy  started  off  down 
the  creek  and  came  to  where  this  man-eater  was,  and  the  boy  said  to 
him,  "My  father  gave  me  a  good  whipping,  and  told  me  to  go  and 
stay  away  and  never  return."  Big-Nest  told  the  boy  that  he  was  about 
to  give  him  four  round  clay  balls  that  he  had ;  that  the  first  one  he  was 
to  use  to  catch  anything  that  he  wanted  to  eat,  the  second  was  to  kill 
anything  that  he  wanted  to  eat,  the  third  was  to  catch  fish  in  the 
creek,,  and  the  fourth  was  for  killing  anything  of  the  size  of  a  buffalo, 
that  he  wanted  to  eat. 

So  the  boy  started  across  the  creek,  and  he  was  crying  as  he  went, 
and  he  saw  a  man  with  two  dogs.  The  man  asked  him  where  he  was 
going.  The  boy  told  the  man  that  his  father  had  been  whipping  him, 
because  he  had  let  the  man-eater  out  of  the  house.  The  man  then  told 
the  boy  that  he  had  heard  that  if  any  one  would  kill  this  man-eater 
he  could  have  the  chief's  daughter.  So  this  man  went  to  the  creek  and 
waited  for  Big-Nest,  and  pretty  soon  Big-Nest  appeared  on  dry  land. 
Then  the  man  set  his  dogs  on  him,  and  the  dogs  killed  him  in  no  time. 

The  boy  watched  what  was  done,  then  he  went  on,  and  was  gone 
for  two  days,  when  he  saw  some  deer.  He  threw  his  clay  ball  at  them, 
and  the  ball  turned  into  a  Mountain-Lion.  One  of  the  deer  he  caught, 
killed,  butchered  and  cooked  on  the  fire  and  ate  it. 

Again  he  started,  and  he  came  to  a  big  creek,  and  he  saw  some 
big  fish,  and  he  threw  his  ball  for  fish  in  the  creek  and  brought  out 
two  big  bass,  and  he  cooked  them  on  the  fire  and  ate  them. 

Now  he  started  again,  and  went  on.  He  came  to  some  turkeys 
picking  acorns.  He  threw  his  third  clay  ball ;  then  it  turned  into  a 
Wild-Cat.  It  caught  a  turkey  for  him  and  he  cooked  it  on  the  fire  and 
ate  it. 

And  so  he  went  on,  and  came  to  a  big  prairie.  He  saw  a  big  herd 
of  buffalo,  and  he  told  his  buffalo  clay  ball  that  he  wanted  the  biggest 
one  in  the  herd.  So  the  ball  turned  into  a  Mountain-Lion,  and  he  went 
and  killed  the  biggest  one.  Then  the  boy  butchered  it  and  cooked  it 
on  the  fire.    He  stayed  there  two  or  three  days. 

Then  he  went  and  came  to  a  house  where  a  man  was  living.     He 


36        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

asked  the  man  if  he  could  stop  there  for  about  a  week.  The  man  told 
him  it  was  all  right,  he  could.  So  the  boy  told  the  man  the  troubles 
which  had  caused  him  to  leave  his  own  people.  The  man  told  the 
boy  it  was  too  bad  for  him  to  leave  his  home.  The  boy  stayed  with  this 
old  man  a  long  time,  and  he  would  go  out  and  bring  in  deer  and  tur- 
keys, and  the  old  man  learned  to  think  very  well  of  the  boy.  The  boy 
said  to  the  old  man  that  he  would  like  to  make  his  home  there  if  he 
was  willing,  and  the  old  man  said  he  did  not  care  if  he  did. 

In  about  two  weeks,  some  one  came  after  the  boy,  to  prove  that  the 
man  with  the  dogs  had  killed  the  man-eater.  The  boy  went  with  this 
man,  but  first  told  the  old  man  that  he  would  return  to  him. 

When  he  got  back  home,  the  people  were  washing  a  black  man  in 
hot  water,  trying  to  make  him  white.  The  black  man  had  told  that  he 
it  was  who  had  killed  this  man-eater.  The  boy  told  them  that  it  was 
another  man,  who  had  killed  the  man-eater  with  his  dogs.  So  they 
took  a  butcher-knife  and  cut  this  black  man's  ears  off,  and  they  threw 
him  into  the  creek  for  telling  a  lie.  So  the  other  man  married  the 
chief's  daughter.  The  boy  now  went  to  see  his  parents,  and  his  father 
gave  him  a  long  talk  and  told  him  that  he  was  sorry  that  he  had  given 
him  a  whipping,  but  that  he  would  never  whip  him  any  more. 

The  mother  was  crying,  and  said  that  the  boy  had  been  having  a 
good  time.  The  old  man  asked  him  if  he  was  going  to  stay  at  home 
or  not.  The  boy  told  him  that  he  would,  and  so  his  father  was  glad 
to  give  him  a  good  house. 

The  man  that  had  married  the  chief's  daughter  had  a  feast  and 
invited  everybody  to  come  and  eat  dinner.  So  they  all  went  to  the 
wedding  feast,  but  the  old  man  and  his  son  did  not  go,  because  the  old 
man  wanted  his  son  to  marry  the  chief's  daughter.  The  old  man  said, 
"I  would  let  my  daughter  marry  a  man  like  him,  and  my  son  wants 
the  girl ;"  but  the  chief  made  his  daughter  live  with  this  man  who  had 
killed  Big-Nest. 

30. — The  Deserted  Boy  and  his  Sister. 

Some  boys  and  girls  were  roasting  acorns.  An  acorn  popped  and 
struck  one  of  the  boys  on  the  stomach ;  it  grew  to  be  a  tree  in  his 
stomach.  All  went  off  hunting  and  left  this  boy  and  his  youngest 
sister.  The  boy  lay  on  his  back  always.  His  sister  went  after  water 
and  saw  a  big  turkey,  deer  and  buffalo.  They  ate  all  these  animals. 
The  girl  went  after  water  again  and  saw  a  man  at  the  spring,  with  a 
big  elk.  "It  was  I  who  killed  those  animals.  I  feel  very  sorry  for  you 
and  your  brother."    The  brother  had  told  his  sister  to  bring  this  man 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  37 

back  with  her.  She  did  so,  and  the  man  married  the  girl.  This  man 
told  his  wife  to  go  around  the  camp  and  pick  up  the  refuse  and  even 
the  old  pieces  of  blankets.  They  both  dug  a  big  hole  in  the  ground. 
They  put  all  these  things  in  it.  The  man  said,  "I  think  we  will  have 
hard  wind."  The  hard  wind  came.  It  blew  the  acorn  tree  off  the  boy's 
stomach.  The  boy  was  now  all  right.  They  uncovered  the  things 
they  had  buried.  They  found  blankets  piled  up  high,  all  kinds  of 
clothing,  and  all  kinds  of  food,  and  everything  that  can  be  mentioned. 

They  started  to  build  a  lodge.  They  put  all  their  things  in  this 
lodge.  The  man  told  his  brother-in-law  to  go  up  on  the  lodge  to  look 
and  see  if  anybody  was  coming.  The  boy  saw  four  men  coming.  They 
invited  these  four  men  into  the  lodge,  and  they  gave  them  their  dinner, 
they  gave  them  everything  they  could  carry  away,  and  then  the  four 
men  started  back  to  the  camp.  When  they  got  back  to  their  camp  they 
told  their  friends  that  these  people  whom  they  visited  were  rich,  and 
that  that  night  they  should  cry  around  the  camp,  saying,  "The  two 
children  you  left  now  have  all  they  want." 

Now,  all  returned  to  the  village,  and  when  they  all  got  home  the 
father  and  mother  and  sisters  went  to  the  lodge  of  this  boy  and  girl 
and  her  husband  and  began  crying  around  their  lodge,  but  they  would 
not  let  them  enter  the  lodge.  After  a  while  they  opened  the  door  and 
let  them  in,  and  they  saw  their  boy  and  daughter  and  her  husband.  So 
the  girl  gave  them  blankets  and  corn  and  acorns,  and  of  everything 
they  had. 

31. — The  Boy,  the  Arrows  and  the  Ducks. 

Once  there  were  four  men  living  together.  The  two  oldest  of  them 
were  brothers.  These  two  brothers  had  two  arrows.  The  older  brother 
said,  "Brothers,  we  are  all  poor,  and  must  be  good  to  the  arrow."  Then 
he  said  to  his  younger  brother :  "You  must  not  shoot  any  kind  of  birds, 
nor  use  the  arrow.  If  you  do  use  the  arrow  the  bird  will  carry  it  away 
and  then  we  shall  be  in  trouble.  Some  bird  from  across  the  water  will 
come  after  the  arrow." 

An  Eagle  came  and  lighted  near  by  them  on  the  tree.  The  youngest 
boy  disobeyed  his  brother  and  shot  at  the  Eagle,  but  he  did  not  hit  it. 

When  the  boy's  brother  came  back  from  hunting,  he  told  him  that 
a  nice  pretty  bird  had  come.  He  said  he  had  got  tired  of  it  and  that  it 
had  flown  away.  The  brother  said  to  the  boy,  "I  told  you  not  to  use 
the  arrow ;  that  if  you  should  you  would  see  hard  days  as  time  passed 
on. 


38        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

The  next  day,  while  the  boys  were  out  hunting,  a  big  Bald-Headed- 
Eagle  came,  and  it  was  a  very  fine  bird.  The  young  boy  said  to  him- 
self, "Well,  my  brother  will  be  glad  if  I  kill  this  pretty  bird."  So  he 
shot  at  it  all  day,  but  he  did  not  get  it.  A  yellow  bird  came  next.  The 
boy  shot  at  it,  but  did  not  get  it.  The  next  day  a  big  bird  came,  the 
boy  shot  at  it,  but  did  not  get  it.  The  next  day  a  brown  Duck  came 
and  the  boy  tried  to  kill  it.  The  next  day  a  pretty  big  white  Duck  came, 
and  the  boy  shot  all  his  arrows  away,  but  he  did  not  get  it.  The  Duck 
flew  away.  The  next  day,  the  boy  was  shooting  at  little  birds,  when 
he  saw  a  big  Red-Duck  coming.  The  Duck  came  and  lit  on  the  same 
tree  as  the  other  birds  had  lighted  on.  The  boy  said  to  himself,  "What 
a  pretty  bird  that  is ;  my  brother  would  be  glad  if  I  killed  it."  So  he 
started  shooting  at  it.  He  shot  all  his  arrows  away,  and  he  said, 
"Well,  I  will  kill  you  if  I  have  to  use  my  brother's  arrow."  So  he  went 
and  got  this  arrow  that  his  brother  had  told  him  not  to  shoot.  He  shot 
at  the  Duck  and  hit  it  right  in  the  breast.  The  Red-Duck  carried  the 
arrow  away. 

The  boy  cried  all  day.  The  brothers  returned  from  hunting  and 
the  boy  was  missing.  The  oldest  said  to  his  brothers :  "I  told  you 
boys  not  to  shoot  that  arrow,  but  you  see  the  boy  did  not  obey.  He  has 
gone,  and  I  am  sorry  for  him." 

The  youngest  brother  had  started  after  the  arrow,  following  the 
Duck  in  the  direction  of  its  flight.  The  boy  walked  one  year  after 
the  bird,  until  he  came  to  a  village.  Wlien  he  got  to  the  edge  of  the 
village  he  met  a  man,  and  said,  "I  wish  you  would  tell  me  where  the 
chief's  tipi  is."  The  man  said,  "You  see  that  tipi  that  has  a  banner  on 
it?  That  is  the  chief's  tipi."  The  boy  went  to  the  chief's  tipi,  stopped 
at  the  door,  and  the  chief  said  to  him,  "Come  in  and  take  a  seat."  The 
woman  cooked  something  to  eat.  When  the  boy  had  eaten  and  was 
through,  the  chief  asked  what  was  his  business  there.  The  boy  said : 
"Yes,  chief,  I  have  a  good  reason  for  stopping  with  you.  A  big  Red- 
Duck  carried  my  brother's  arrow  away,  and  I  am  after  him.  I  want  to 
ask  you  if  you  have  seen  or  heard  of  him?"  The  chief  said,  "Yes,  I 
heard  that  he  went  through  here  about  two  days  ago."  So  the  boy 
told  the  chief  he  wanted  a  pair  of  moccasins.  The  chief  gave  him  a 
pair. 

The  boy  started  again,  and  as  he  went,  he  cried.  He  kept  on  till 
he  came  to  another  village.  He  was  very  tired.  He  asked  a  man 
where  the  chief  lived.  The  man  said,  "Do  you  see  that  banner  there? 
He  lives  where  that  is."  The  boy  went  to  the  chief's  tipi  and  was  in- 
vited to  eat.     When  he  got  through  eating  the  chief  asked,,  "Where 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  39 

are  you  going?"  "I  am  trying  to  catch  a  big  Red-Duck  that  has  my 
brother's  arrow,"  said  he. 

The  boy  went  on  until  he  came  to  another  village.  He  went  to  the 
chief's  tipi,  and  the  chief  asked  him  in.  He  ate  his  dinner  and  made 
his  complaint  to  the  chief :  "The  big  Red-Duck  has  my  brother's  arrow. 
I  am  after  him."  "Well,  mv  bow  he  went  through  here  about  fifty  days 
ago." 

The  boy  started  again  and  kept  going  until  he  came  to  another 
village.  The  chief  asked  him  where  he  was  going.  "Well,  chief,  I  am 
after  my  brother's  arrow.  That  big  Red-Duck  carried  it  away.  I 
stopped  here  to  find  out  whether  or  not  you  have  seen  or  heard  of  it." 
"Yes,  I  hear  that  he  went  through  here  about  forty  days  ago." 

The  boy  went  on  again,  and  walked  about  a  month,  until  he  came 
to  another  village.  He  made  his  complaint  to  the  chief,  and  said:  "I 
stopped  here  to  learn  if  you  have  seen  or  heard  of  the  big  Red-Duck 
that  took  my  brother's  arrOw?"  "Well,  my  son,  he  went  through  here 
about  thirty  days  ago." 

The  boy  started  again,  and  walked  about  thirty  days.  He  came  to 
another  village,  went  to  the  chief's  tipi  and  made  his  complaint.  He 
asked  the  chief  to  give  him  a  pair  of  moccasins.  The  chief  gave  him 
the  moccasins  and  told  himj  that  the  big  Red-Duck  had  gone  through 
the  village  about  twenty  days  before.  The  boy  said,  "Well,  chief,  I 
must  go  on." 

The  boy  went  on,  and  came  to  another  village,  made  his  complaint 
to  the  chief  and  the  chief  told  him  that  the  big  Red-Duck  had  passed 
through  his  village  about  ten  days  before. 

The  boy  walked  on  about  ten  days,  and  came  to  another  chief's  tipi. 
He  made  his  complaint  to  the  chief  and  the  chief  told  him  that  the 
big  Red-Duck  had  passed  through  about  eight  days  before. 

The  boy  went  on,  until  he  came  to  another  village.  He  went  to 
the  chief's  tipi,  and  made  his  complaint.  The  chief  told  him  that  the 
big  Red-Duck  had  passed  through  there  about  one  day  before. 

The  boy  started  again  and  walked  till  he  came  to  a  camp,  and  asked 
for  the  chief's  tipi.  The  chief  asked  the  boy  what  was  his  business. 
The  boy  told  the  chief  the  Red-Duck  had  carried  his  brother's  arrow 
away,  and  he  was  going  after  it,  and  he  asked  the  chief  if  he  had  heard 
of  the  big  Red-Duck  going  through  there.  "Yes,  my  son,  he  was 
through  here  at  about  noon  to-day."     "Well,  chief,  I  must  be  going." 

The  boy  started  on,  and  he  ran  till  he  came  to  the  big  water.  "Old 
grandfather  Brown-Duck,  I  wish  you  would  stretch  your  legs."  The 
r>ro\vn-Duck  stretched  his  legs,  and  said,  "I  have  done  all  I  can  for  you, 


40       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

son;  they  may  reach  you."  The  boy  was  afraid  to  swim,  because  of 
the  big  fish.  "Well,  Brown-Duck,  please  stretch  your  legs  across." 
The  Brown-Duck  said,  "I  have  done  all  I  can  for  you." 

The  next  bird  was  a  White-Duck,  and  the  boy  cried,  and  said,  "I 
wish  you  would  stretch  your  legs  across  the  water."  The  White-Duck 
just  barely  reached  across.  The  boy  stopped  crying,  and  said,  "Big 
Red-Duck,  I  wish  you  would  be  kind  enough  to  stretch  your  legs  and 
reach  me  if  you  can."  So  the  big  Red-Duck  stretched  his  legs  and 
reached  across  the  water.     So  the  boy  walked  on  the  Red-Duck's  legs. 

The  boy  found  thousands  of  birds,  and  all  the  birds  were  glad  to 
see  him.  They  said :  "Well,  you  have  come,  at  last.  Some  said  you 
were  not  coming,  some  said  you  were.  We  have  been  trying  to  get 
the  arrow  of  your  brother  for  a  long  time,  and  finally  the  big  Red- 
Duck  got  it."  The  birds  said :  "We  cannot  do  for  you  anything  good, 
but  we  will  do  the  best  we  can."  So  they  all  brought  him  blankets, 
and  they  told  him  to  fix  the  blankets  so  he  could  take  them  home  to  his 
brothers.  They  twisted  four  blankets  together  in  one  bundle,  and  in 
it  they  placed  the  arrow. 

The  boy  now  started  home.  The  big  Red-Duck  stretched  his  leg 
across,  and  the  boy  walked  across.  After  the  boy  got  across  he  set  out 
for  home.  When  his  brothers  saw  him  comjng  they  all  said,  "There 
comes  our  brother."  They  asked  him  if  he  brought  the  arrow  home^ 
and  he  said  he  had.  So  they  untied  the  bundle  and  there  it  was,  with 
the  big  pile  of  blankets. 

32. — The  Boy  and  the  Mountain-Lion. 

There  was  once  a  man  by  the  name  of  "Mountain-Lion-Man."  He 
went  scalp-hunting  with  a  war-party  and  had  one  of  his  legs  frozen. 
They  left  him  with  his  food,  his  leg  frozen  off.  He  stayed  there  with 
but  one  leg,  and  got  very  poor.    Nobody  was  there  to  help  him. 

He  heard  two  Mountain-Lions  roar.  He  got  excited.  The  rest 
Of  the  hunters  were  coming  back  to  get  him,  but  they  got  into  a  fight 
with  the  Pawnee  and  forgot  him.  The  two  Mountain-Lions  came  to 
him,  and  said :  "We  came  after  you.  We  heard  that  you  were  frozen 
and  helpless.  The  others  were  to  come  and  get  you."  The  man  said : 
"I  do  not  see  how  I  can  go  with  you.  I  have  but  one  leg."  The 
Mountain-Lions  answered,  "Well,  we  can  carry  you  on  our  back,  and 
take  you  along  all  right."  So  they  got  him  with  their  tails  and  lifted 
him  on  their  backs  and  carried  him  to  their  den,  which  was  up  on  a 
high  hill.    There  they  found  a  male  and  a  female  Mountain-Lion.    The 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  41 

male  Mountain-Lion  said,  "I  will  take  you  for  my  boy,"  and  the  female 
Mountain-Lion  said,  "I  will  take  you  for  my  boy." 

The  boy's  people  thought  he  was  dead,  and  they  mourned  for  him. 
But  the  Mountain-Lions  fed  him  deer,  wild  turkey  and  buffalo. 

There  were  in  the  Mountain-Lion's  den,  some  shields,  buffalo  hides 
and  Indian  mats.  They  kept  the  boy  for  some  time,  until  he  got  used 
to  them,  and  would  talk  to  them.  They  would  kill  Indians  and  bring 
them  to  the  boy,  but  he  would  not  eat  them. 

Finally,  the  Mountain-Lions  wanted  the  boy  to  go  home ;  so  they 
got  him  a  pretty  iron-gray  horse  to  ride.  They  started  home  with  him. 
They  got  to  the  camp.  They  got  there  in  the  night  and  rode  throughout 
the  camp,  hunting  his  people.  The  Mountain-Lions  told  the  boy  not  to 
be  afraid  of  his  people.    He  finally  found  them,  and  went  inside. 

The  Mountain-Lions  gave  the  boy  one  toe-nail  to  use  when  he 
wanted  to  be  a  Mountain-Lion.  His  folks  were  glad  to  see  him  home. 
Everything  was  very  pretty  around  his  lodge.  Every  time  there  was 
mourning  they  would  get  him  to  be  a  leader  of  the  scalping  party.  He 
would  kill  a  man.  So  the  Mountain-Lions  told  the  boy  to  get  some- 
thing from  his  people.  The  people  got  so  they  were  afraid  of  the  boy, 
and  they  would  give  him  the  best  horse  they  had.  He  learned  that 
the  Indians  were  afraid  of  him.  He  would  take  the  pretty  girls  away 
from  them.  When  they  killed  buffalo  he  would  take  the  best  ones. 
He  kept  this  up  for  a  long  time.  He  would  take  the  best  horses  they 
had. 

One  day  they  were  killing  buffalo.  He  went  to  take  the  men's  meat 
away  from  them.  There  was  a  boy  and  his  father  who  had  killed  a 
fat  buffalo.  The  old  man  said  to  his  boy :  "There  comes  the  man. 
You  must  cut  him  off  a  piece  and  give  it  to  him."  The  boy  said,  "I 
will  not  give  him  a  thing."  The  man  said,  "Boy,  give  me  your  buffalo, 
and  you.  go  and  hunt  another,"  The  boy  said,  "You  go  and  hunt 
another  for  yourself."  So  the  man  got  off  his  horse  and  started  after 
the  boy.  They  were  a  match,  and  both  were  Mountain-Lion  men.  The 
boy  overpowered  the  man  and  killed  him  in  a  little  while. 

The  boy  went  to  the  man's  home  and  got  one  of  the  man's  wives. 
The  rest  of  the  people  went  to  their  homes  and  got  their  horses ;  but  the 
boy  picked  out  the  best  ones  for  himself.1 

33. — The  Boy  and  the  Owl. 

There  was  once  a  village  with  a  baby  boy  in  it  that  was  always 
crying.    At  night,  his  mother  put  the  child  outside  of  the  lodge. 

1  The  Pawnee  have  a  similar  tale. 


42        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

An  Owl  came  and  took  the  baby  away  to  his  nest.  The  baby's  folks 
hunted  for  him  all  over  the  village,  but  could  not  find  him.  They 
thought  he  was  dead,  and  were  mourning  for  him. 

One  day  a  boy  was  coming  back  from  watering  horses  and  he  heard 
an  Owl  halloo ;  at  the  same  time  he  heard  another  halloo,  as  though 
made  by  a  person.  He  listened.  He  heard  it  again.  He  went  back  and 
told  his  folks  that  he  had  heard  an  Owl  halloo  and  also  a  person.  They 
said,  "We  know  the  tree  where  they  are."  So  all  went  to  see  the  tree. 
They  cut  the  tree  down  to  see  if  it  was  there.  They  split  the  tree,  and 
there  they  found  the  baby. 

The  baby  acted  like  an  Owl,  and  would  bite  like  one.  They  took 
him  back,  and  finally  he  got  used  to  them. 

34. — The  Boy  who  killed  the  Hill. 

There  was  once  a  village  by  a  hill.  The  hill  was  eating  up  every- 
thing— all  the  buffalo  and  deer  and  horses. 

Finally  there  was  a  boy  in  the  village,  who  said,  "I  will  kill  that 
hill."  His  mother  said,  "You  leave  him  alone,  for  he  eats  buffalo  and 
deer,  as  well  as  men."  But  the  boy  said,  "I  will  kill  him  anyhow." 
He  got  his  knife  and  sharpened  it.  He  went  out  to  the  hill,  and  said 
to  it,  "Now  eat  me ;  you  have  eaten  lots  of  men."  The  hill  said,  "What ! 
Will  a  boy  like  vou  say  that  to  me !  I  will  eat  you,  sure  enough !"  So 
the  hill  ate  the  boy. 

As  soon  as  the  boy  was  inside  of  the  hill  he  cut  the  hill's  heart, 
and  the  hill  wondered  how  such  a  boy  could  make  him  sick ;  he  thought 
he  must  be  mad.    After  a  while,  the  hill  died. 

The  boy  came  out,  and  said,  "I  have  killed  him,  sure  enough."  So 
everything  that  was  inside  of  the  hill  came  out — buffalo,  deer,  turkeys' 
— and  all  went  into  the  woods. 

The  chief  of  the  village  said  he  must  have  a  council  and  do  some- 
thing for  the  boy,  in  return  for  what  he  had  done  for  the  people.  So 
they  held  a  council  meeting,  and  they  decided  to  let  the  boy  have  the 
chief's  daughter.  He  invited  all  the  chiefs  to  come  and  take  dinner 
with  him. 

35. — The  Boy  and  the  Bad  Spirit. 

The  Indians  once  went  out  scalp  hunting.  They  got  about  five  miles 
away.  One  man  got  tired  and  his  foot  was  sore.  He  concluded  that 
he  would  turn  back.  He  started  back,  and  went  over  a  hill.  When 
night  came  he  stayed  by  a  creek.  He  had  killed  a  fat  deer.  He  jerked 
the  best  part  of  the  deer  and  was  roasting  it. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  43 

About  midnight  he  heard  something  coming  from  the  same  direc- 
tion he  had  come  from.  He  listened  a  few  minutes.  Whatever  it  was 
(this  is  what  we  call  a  bad  Spirit),  it  came  up  and  said,  "Hello,"  and 
the  man  was  sleeping  right  by  the  fire.  He  got  ready  to  stab  the  being, 
but  the  being  just  ate  the  meat  he  was  roasting  for  himself.  The  being 
said :  "Do  not  be  afraid  of  me.  You  have  walked  over  my  house.  Do 
not  try  to  run  from  me,  for  I  am  not  going  to  hurt  you.  You  are 
trying  to  stab  me.    Do  not  do  that.     I  will  not  hurt  you." 

36. — The  Chief's  Son  and  the  Orphan  Girl. 

There  was  once  a  village  where  lived  a  chief  who  had  a  boy  and 
a  little  adopted  orphan  girl.  The  little  girl  had  lice  on  her  head.  The 
little  orphan  said,  "I  shall  have  a  child  from  the  chief's  son."  In  the 
morning  she  went  where  he  urinated,  and  drank  the  urine,  and  in  a 
fortnight  she  was  pregnant,  and  the  people  said :  "That  little  orphan 
girl  is  pregnant.  Somebody  must  have  been  very  mean ;  there  are  lice 
all  over  her  head."  Next,  they  heard  that  the  orphan  was  pregnant  by 
the  chief's  son.  People  said  the  boy  must  have  been  crazy ;  that  he  was 
too  good  for  her.  His  mother  said:  '"Son,  that  little  orphan  girl  is 
going  to  have  a  baby  by  you."  After  a  while  the  girl  had  a  baby,  and 
she  said  the  baby  belonged  to  the  chief's  son  and  she  was  going  to  take 
it  to  him. 

The  next  morning,  the  chief's  son  ran  off,  and  the  people  said, 
"The  chief's  son  has  run  off."  The  little  orphan  girl  told  the  boy's 
mother  that  the  baby  was  her  son's.  She  said :  "I  will  not  keep  it 
without  a  father.    I  will  follow  him."    So  she  started  after  him. 

The  boy  had  killed  two  deer,  and  just  as  he  was  cooking  and  was 
about  to  eat,  and  as  the  girl  was  walking  up  toward  him,  he  said :  "I 
ran  away  from  that  girl  and  she  is  coming.  I  will  kill  her."  So  he 
took  his  bow  and  shot  her  and  killed  her. 

He  went  on,  and  at  night,  he  killed  a  deer  and  was  roasting  it, 
when  the  girl  walked  up  to  him  again.  So  he  shot  her  down  again, 
and  went  on. 

The  boy  was  preparing  to  eat,  when  the  girl  came  again.  He  shot 
her  and  went  on  and  killed  another  deer.  At  evening,  she  came  again 
to  him,  while  he  was  cooking.  He  shot  her  again,  and  killed  her.  He 
cut  her  up,  and  the  baby,  too,  and  went  on. 

The  boy  stopped  again  where  he  was  going  to  stay  over  night,  and 
the  girl  walked  up  to  him  again.  She  was  all  dressed  up  and  was  very 
pretty.  He  spoke  to  her,  and  she  sat  by  him.  She  said :  "I  am  follow- 
ing you  because  this  baby  is  yours."    He  lived  with  her. 


44        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

One  day  she  told  him  to  go  and  find  a  good  place  to  live.  He 
found  a  place  on  a  creek,  and  they  moved  there.  He  dragged  trees 
all  around,  and  made  a  corral.  He  also  made  a  big  lodge,  and  inside 
the  lodge  he  dug  a  well. 

One  morning  they  got  up,  and  they  were  living  in  a  big  fine  lodge, 
and  they  had  a  fine  corral  and  a  good  many  horses,  their  corn  field  was 
in  good  condition,  and  they  had  a  good  many  negro  slaves  to  wait  on 
them.  One  day  he  went  after  his  people,  and  his  wife  told  him  to  bring 
his  mother. 

37. — The  Water  Baby. 

There  was  once  a  woman  who  went  from  her  camp  to  the  creek  to 
wash.  She  had  a  little  baby  with  her  while  she  was  washing.  All  at 
once  it  disappeared.  The  woman  hunted  all  around  the  creek,  but  she 
could  not  find  her  baby  anywhere. 

The  woman  cried  all  the  time.  She  went  home  and  told  the  In- 
dians that  she  had  lost  her  child.  They  all  went  over  to  hunt  the  child, 
but  they  could  not  find  it.  The  woman  was  crying  all  the  time.  She 
thought  the  baby  was  dead  or  had  been  taken  by  some  beast.  She 
mourned  day  after  day  and  would  eat  nothing  for  several  days  at  a 
time.  About  a  year  after  this  the  woman  cut  off  her  hair,  threw  her 
shirt  away  and  was  feeling  bad  about  her  child,  that  it  should  be  lost 
when  so  young. 

Two  boys  had  told  about  camp  that  they  knew  where  the  child  was 
and  all  about  it.  Some  one  in  the  camp  told  the  woman  that  two  boys 
had  seen  the  child.  The  woman  would  not  believe,  but  her  husband 
advised  her  to  cook  something  to  eat,  and  invite  the  two  boys  and  ask 
them  what  they  knew  about  her  child.  So  she  went  to  work  and  cooked 
a  meal  and  invited  the  two  boys.  When  they  came,  the  first  thing  the 
woman  asked  them,  was,  if  they  knew  anything  about  her  child.  The 
boys  said,  "Yes,  we  know  where  it  is  and  can  get  it  back  if  you  want 
it  back."  She  cried  out,  "Yes,  I  want  the  child  if  you  can  get  him! 
I  will  give  you  my  best  horse,  which  is  a  very  pretty  one."  So  one 
of  the  boys  went  to  work  to  get  the  woman's  child  back.  He  told  her 
that  the  child  was  in  the  water ;  that  it  would  not  act  like  a  baby,  but 
like  a  monster  in  the  water.  The  boy  went  out,  and  stayed  about  four 
days.    He  came  back  and  brought  the  baby. 

The  woman  was  glad  to  see  her  child  that  she  had  missed  for  about 
a  year.    The  boy  got  the  horse. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  45 

38. — The  Lost  Boy  and  his  Horse. 

A  boy  once  strayed  away  from  a  village  while  out  shooting  birds. 
When  it  was  about  daylight  he  was  in  a  big  prairie,  and  could  not  find 
the  way  home.  He  stayed  in  a  hollow  tree.  When  some  wild  horses 
were  there  he  would  stay  in  the  tree  while  they  grazed  around  him. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  the  horses  came  again.  There  was  a 
stallion  in  the  bunch.  This  Horse  said  to  the  boy :  "I  have  seen  you 
here  many  times.  I  know  that  you  got  lost  and  are  having  a  hard 
time.  I  would  like  you  to  go  with  us  right  away."  The  boy  said, 
"My  moccasins  are  worn  out."  The  Horse  said,  "You  do  not  have  to 
walk ;  you  can  ride  me."    The  boy  got  on  the  Horse  and  they  went  off. 

They  came  to  some  tall  grass,  and  the  boy  stayed  with  the  wild 
horses  for  two  years.  The  Horse  said,  "Boy,  there  is  something  going 
to  happen,  right  away ;  so  you  stay  here,  and  we  will  go  and  I  will 
come  back  to  see  you  in  two  days."    They  went.    The  boy  remained. 

After  a  while  the  boy  heard  a  terrible  noise.  The  Pawnee  were 
running  after  buffalo  and  killing  them.  The  boy  lay  right  still  in  the 
same  place  until  he  heard  some  one  talking.  He  did  not  move.  There 
were  two  girls  that  had  killed  a  buffalo.  They  butchered  it.  Finally, 
one  of  them  said,  "I  am  very  thirsty,"  and  added,  "I  am  going  for  some 
water  to  drink,  where  that  tall  grass  is."  There  she  went,  and  hunted 
for  water  until  she  found  the  boy  lying  in  the  tall  grass. 

She  called  her  sister  to  come  right  away.  Her  sister  went,  and  the 
boy  was  lying  in  the  grass.  They  asked  him  what  he  was  doing.  He 
said,  "Nothing  but  lying  here."  So  the  older  girl  said:  "Well,  go 
home,  with  us.  We  have  no  brother.  Stay  with  us."  The  boy  got  up 
and  followed  them  to  where  they  were  butchering  the  buffalo. 

When  they  were  through  they  started  for  home,  the  boy  riding  be- 
hind one  of  the  girls.  When  they  got  home  they  told  their  father  they 
had  found  a  boy  and  they  wanted  to  keep  him  for  their  brother.  The 
chief  said,  "All  right."  The  girls  said  they  wanted  to  tell  all  the  Paw- 
nee to  come  and  see  him. 

The  chief  had  a  meeting  and  told  them  that  his  daughters  had 
found  a  boy  and  wanted  to  raise  him  and  keep  him  for  their  brother. 
All  who  saw  the  boy  made  a  promise  not  to  hurt  him.  The  boy  stayed 
with  them  for  a  long  time. 

One  day  the  boy  said,  "Let  us  go  water  Horses  and  put  them  in 
tall  grass  where  they  can  get  fat."  So  they  went  and  watered  them, 
then  took  them  quite  a  distance  away  and  put  them  in  some  tall  grass. 
The  boy  told  his  sisters  that  he  was  going  to  a  ridge;  that  he  would 


46        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

come  right  back.  When  he  got  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  his  Horse  saw 
him  and  came  running  to  him. 

The  boy  said,  "Hello."  The  Horse  said :  "Where  have  you  been  ? 
I  have  been  hunting  for  you  for  two  years."  The  boy  said :  "Two  girls 
found  me  and  took  me  to  their  home.  They  watched  mie  for  a  long 
time,  and  to-day  is  the  first  time  I  have  been  out."  The  Horse  said : 
"We  will  go  with  you  where  you  are.  You  must  come  back  here  in 
two  days."  The  boy  came  back  in  two  days,  and  the  wild  Horses  were 
there  again.  He  rode  the  Horse  and  drove  the  others  to  his  adopted 
home.    He  gave  the  two  sisters  a  Horse  each.    The  girls  were  glad. 

The  boy  grew  to  be  a  man.  They  went  off  one  day  and  found  the 
other  Horses.  One  Horse  was  yellow  spotted.  The  boy  had  a  good 
many  Horses.  After  a  while,  the  sisters  began  to  love  their  brother, 
and  married  him.    He  lived  with  them  and  had  children. 

After  a  while  his  Horse  said  to  the  boy :  "If  you  want  to  see  your 
people  they  are  here,  close  by,  now.  I  will  go  and  see  if  they  are  here. 
I  will  come  back  and  tell  you."  So  he  went  and  stayed  away  two  days. 
He  came  back  and  told  the  boy  that  they  were  there.  The  boy  told 
his  wives  he  was  going  to  see  his  people.  He  said  he  did  not  know 
whether  he  would  come  back  or  not. 

The  next  morning,  the  boy  started.  He  rode  his  Horse.  He  found 
the  camp.  He  told  his  Horse  to  go  back  and  watch  the  other  Horses. 
So  the  Horse  said,  "There  is  your  camp,  right  this  way."  The  boy 
started  for  his  people.  He  came  to  his  father's  lodge.  His  father  was 
there.  The  boy  walked  in  and  the  old  man  said,  "Hello,  give  me 
smoke."    He  thought  it  was  somebody  else. 

The  boy  said :  "Father,  I  am  back."  He  handed  the  old  man  his 
bow  and  arrow  and  the  old  man  noticed  that  it  was  his  boy.  He  cried 
out,  and  the  old  woman  said,  "This  is  the  boy  that  we  lost."  He  finally 
got  used  to  them  and  went  back  home  with  them.  After  they  were 
home  they  made  him  marry  again.    So  he  had  three  wives. 

He  stayed  home  about  two  years,  and  told  his  wife  that  he  was  mar- 
ried and  was  going  where  his  wives  were..  So  his  Horse  came,  and 
said :  "I  want  you  to  get  your  wives  together.  I  am  getting  old.  I 
expect  to  live  long  with  you."  So  he  went  with  his  Horse  and  reached 
the  home  of  his  first  wives. 

He  said,  "I  want  to  get  all  of  you  together."  He  asked  his  father- 
in-law  whether  or  not  he  objected.  The  old  chief  said  it  would  be  all 
right  with  him ;  that  he  supposed  they  would  all  live  together  and  have 
a  good  time.     They  set  out  for  the  place  where  his  other  wives  were 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  47 

and  got  there.    They  divided  the  Horses.     His  Horse  died.    The  rest 
of  the  wild  Horses  went  off,  and  never  came  back.1 

39. — The  Boy  who  ran  away. 

A  boy  was  once  living  at  a  camp.  One  of  the  brothers  had  an  iron- 
gray  horse ;  it  was  his  favorite.  He  told  his  brothers  never  to  ride 
the  horse.    He  said  he  himself  would  never  ride  it. 

One  time  this  brother  went  out  scalp  hunting  with  the  rest  of  the 
Indians.  The  other  brother  thought  while  his  brother  was  gone  he 
would  ride  the  horse  and  then  turn  it  loose.  So  he  caught  the  horse 
and  rode  him,  for  he  was  not  expecting  his  brother. 

While  the  boy  was  out  riding  the  horse  his  brother  came  back. 
When  he  had  come  back  he  gave  the  boy  a  whipping,  because  he  had 
ridden  his  favorite  horse. 

The  boy  concluded  that  he  would  run  away  and  stay  away.  So  he 
went  off  crying.  He  went  out  in  the  woods  and  kept  going  till  he  came 
to  some  Pawnee,  who  were  killing  buffalo  out  on  the  plain.  He  lay 
down  in  the  tall  grass,  until  some  one  talked.  He  looked  up,  and  saw 
two  girls,  butchering  a  buffalo  by  themselves.  He  went  toward  them. 
The  two  girls  saw  him  and  were  afraid  of  him. 

He  said  to  the  girls  that  he  was  not  a  bad  man.  So  they  said, 
"We  will  take  you  home  with  us.  Our  father  is  a  chief  and  he  will 
not  kill  you.     At  least  we  will  tell  our  father." 

So  the  girls  took  the  boy  home  with  them  and. told  their  father  that 
they  had  found  a  boy  ,who  was  not  dangerous,  and  they  wanted  him 
for  their  brother. 

The  chief  asked  the  boy  if  he  had  a  father  or  mother  or  any  brothers 
or  sisters.  The  boy  said,  "I  have  a  father  and  mother,  and  brothers, 
but  no  sisters."  He  told  his  trouble  to  the  chief — that  his  brother  had 
whipped  him  because  he  had  ridden  his  favorite  horse.  He  said  he  did 
not  expect  to  return  home.  So  the  chief  said :  "Well,  I  will  take  you 
as  my  son,  and  you  must  treat  these  girls  as  your  sisters.  I  have  all 
the  horses  you  can  ride."    So  the  boy  lived  with  the  chief. 

The  boy  would  go  out  and  kill  deer  and  wild  turkey,  and  sometimes 
he  would  catch  wild  horses  and  give  them  to  his  sisters.  He  lived  with 
them  about  two  years,  and  one  day  he  went  out  on  a  buffalo  hunt.  He 
killed  many  buffalo,  and  when  they  returned  home  the  sisters  said 
they  wanted  their  brother  to  get  married. 

The  old  man  told  the  girls  to  look  out  for  a  nice  girl.  The  girls 
said  they  had  one  picked  out  for  him.    When  they  got  back  they  went 

1  See  No.  39. 


48       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

to  work  to  get  the  boy  a  girl.  The  chief  went  to  see  one  old  man, 
who  had  a  very  pretty  girl.  The  old  man  said,  "I  have  nothing  to  say 
about  it,  but  one  question  I  want  to  ask  you — if  that  boy  is  your  own  ?" 
The  chief  said,  "No,  but  he  is  just  the  same  as  my  boy,  for  my  daugh- 
ters found  him  out  on  the  prairie,  and  they  brought  him  home,  and 
they  wanted  him  to  be  their  brother;  so  I  told  them  it  was  all  right. 
That  is  how  I  got  him.  My  daughters  want  him  to  marry  here.  He  is 
not  of  our  tribe,  but  he  will  never  go  home,  because  his  brother  whipped 
him  for  riding  his  favorite  horse  that  his  brother  told  him  not  to  ride." 

The  chief  went  to  work.  Next  morning,  the  girls  cooked  some  buf- 
falo meat  and  took  it  over  to  the  old  man.  The  old  mam  told  all  his 
people  folks  to  come.  They  went,  and  had  quite  a  time  about  the 
marriage.  Finally  the  old  man  said,  "All  right."  He  told  his  people 
that  the  chief  wanted  his  daughter  to  marry  his  son,  and  he  wanted 
them  all  to  think  what  should  be  done.  He  said,  "I  do  not  know  the 
boy,  and  I  hate  to  refuse  the  chief."  So  they  all  were  willing  to  have 
the  boy.  They  ate  the  food,  and  the  next  morning,  the  chief  brought 
the  horses.  They  went  and  told  the  old  man,  who  said  there  were  not 
enough  horses.  They  took  the  horses  and  told  the  chief  that  the  old 
man  said  there  were  not  enough  to  go  around  his  family.  The  next 
morning,  the  chief  took  five  more.  They  divided  the  horses.  The  boy 
took  one,  while  the  old  man  kept  two.  The  wedding  took  place  in 
two  days.  The  boy's  sisters  were  glad  to  see  their  brother  get  married. 
After  they  were  married,  the  old  man  gave  his  son-in-law  a  talk.  He 
told  him  he  had  given  him  his  daughter  and  that  he  wanted  him  to 
treat  her  good  as  long  as  they  lived.  After  a  while  the  chief  came  and 
gave  his  son  advice. 

After  the  boy  was  married  he  went  to  see  his  folks.  When  he  got 
home  his  father  was  surprised  to  see  his  son.  He  told  his  father  that 
he  was  married.  The  old  man  began  to  cry.  His  brother  was  crying, 
too.  The  boy  told  them  that  he  had  only  come  back  on  a  visit  and  that 
he  was  going  away  again.  So  the  old  man  wanted  him  to  stay.  But 
he  told  his  father  that  he  had  another  father.  The  old  man  started 
to  cry  again.  The  boy  went  off.  He  told  his.  father  he  would  be  back 
again  sometime  to  see  him. 

The  next  time  the  boy  came  back  he  brought  his  wife.  The  old  man 
was  surprised  to  see  him  back  with  his  wife.  The  boy  stayed  about  a 
year  with  his  people.  Next  time  he  went  off  he  told  his  father  that  this 
was  the  last  he  would  ever  see  of  him.  His  wife  did  something  for  her 
father,  and  they  went  off  again.  That  was  the  last  time  the  old  man 
ever  saw  his  son.    He  ate  nothing  for  four  days. 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  49 

40. — Splinter-Foot  Girl". 

Once  there  were  four  boys  living  together.  Having  left  .the  young- 
est one  at  home,  they  went  hunting.  When  they  came  back  from  their 
hunt  they  noticed  that  as  he  walked  around  he  was  crippled.  They 
found  out  what  was  the  matter  with  him,  but  they  could  not  find  the 
splinter  in  his  foot.  After  a  while,  the  boy's  foot  swelled  up  big. 
The  older  brothers  would  carry  water  and  get  wood  for  him.  The 
boy  squeezed  the  swollen  foot  and  there  came  out  matter  and  a  little 
girl  baby. 

"It  makes  me  mad  that  I  should  have  been  suffering  for  so  long  a 
time,"  said  he.  The  boy  took  a  club,  killed  the  baby  and  threw  her 
away.  The  child  came  to  life  and  came  back.  The  boy  killed  her 
again  and  threw  the  baby  away.  The  baby  came  again,  crawling  and 
laughing.  So  the  boy  killed  her  and  cut  her  up. in  pieces  and  threw 
them  into  the  creek.  As  soon  as  he  had  returned  from  the  creek  the 
baby  came  again,  walking.  The  boy  killed  the  baby  again,  and  the 
baby  came  walking  back,  and  said,  "My  uncle."  The  boy  was  too  good 
of  heart  not  to  heed  her.  He  said :  "I  will  let  my  brothers  see  you 
when  they  come  back."  He  combed  her  hair  and  hid  her  in  the  brush, 
saying,  "My  brothers  will  be  back  pretty  soon,  and  when  they  come 
back  I  will  call  you."    The  boy's  brothers  came  back  from  their  hunt. 

"Brothers,  I  have  healed  my  foot, — just  after  you  went  away.  It 
was  a  baby  that  was  making  the  trouble.  I  killed  it,"  said  the  boy. 
"What  did  you  do  that  for?"  said  one  of  the  brothers.  "Well,  it  has 
come  back,"  said  the  boy.  So  the  boy  called  the  girl  and  she  came 
out  of  the  brush.  The  oldest  brother  said :  "Well,  brother,  we  have 
had  no  sister.    We  must  be  good  to  her." 

The  brothers  would  not  go  hunting  unless  the  girl  went  on  ahead 
and  called  the  deer,  elk  and  buffalo.  All  these  would  come,  and  the 
boys  would  call  them.    The  youngest  brother  would  watch  the  girl. 

The  oldest  brother  now  told  his  niece  that  a  monster  was  coming 
to  get  her ;  that  she  must  not  look  at  him.  The  monster  came  and  fell 
right  down  at  the  door,  and  said,  "I  have  broken  my  leg."  But  the 
girl  never  said  a  word.  When  the  brothers  came  back  from  the  hunt 
the  girl  told  them  that  the  monster  had  been  there,  but  that  she  had 
not  looked  at  it.  Again  they  cautioned  the  girl  not  to  look  at  the 
monster  if  he  should  come  again. 

The  brothers  all  went  hunting  again.  The  monster  came  and  threw 
itself  right  on  the  fire,  and  the  girl  looked  at  it.    It  was  an  Elk,  and  it 


50        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

said,  "Come,  let  my  grandfather  kill  you."  The  Elk  left,  taking  the 
girl  with  it. 

The  girl's  uncles  came  right  back  for  they  knew  something  was  hap- 
pening. Two  of  her  uncles  started  after  the  Elk  through  the  bushes 
and  timber  which  had  torn  the  girl's  hair  and  clothes.  On  the  fourth 
day  the  two  uncles  caught  up  with  the  Elk. 

They  saw  the  Elk  all  standing.  So  they  stopped  to  see  where 
the  girl  was.  They  saw  her  with  a  big  elk  horn,  sitting  down.  Her 
uncles  crawled  up  in  the  timber.  She  noticed  them  and  ran  for  them. 
The  Elk  were  scared,  and  ran  for  the  timber.  The  uncles  started  for 
home  with  their  niece.  "Well,  brothers,  we  have  come  home.  Let  us 
have  our  niece  jump  this  log."  The  girl  jumped  the  log,  and  her  hair 
grew  back  and  her  clothes  were  replaced.  So  they  brought  her  home 
the  way  she  was,  and  fixed  her  a  tipi  and  made  her  a  high  bed.1 

'Compare  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  Nos.  81-84;  Dorsey,  Cont.  N.  A.; 
Ethn.,  VI.,  pp.  224;  Riggs,  ibid.,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  115;  Kroeber,  J.  A.  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XIII.,  p.  182  School- 
craft, Hiawatha,  p.  274.    Also  found  among  the  Pawnee  and  Gros  Ventre. 


ABSTRACTS 


i. — The  Buffalo  and  the  Rabbit. 

Buffalo  and  Rabbit  go  to  see  female  Squirrel,  but  she  will  have  nothing  to 
do  with  them.  Rabbit  goes  alone  and  tells  Squirrel  he  can  do  anything  with 
Buffalo.  She  laughs,  and  Rabbit  says  he  will  ride  Buffalo  up  next  day.  He  goes 
home.  Buffalo  comes  and  Rabbit  says  he  is  sick  and  wants  to  ride  to  Squirrel. 
He  saddles  Buffalo,  and  asks  for  whip.  They  start  off.  Squirrel  sees  Rabbit 
riding  Buffalo.  Rabbit  whips  Buffalo,  who  kicks,  and  Rabbit  jumps  and  runs 
into  bush,  followed  by  Buffalo. 

2. — The  Buffalo  and  the  dancing  Turkeys. 

Turkeys  dance  at  request  of  Grasshopper,  who  tells  them  to  shut  their  eyes. 
Grasshopper  breaks  their  necks,  when  one  opens  eye  and  the  others  fly  away. 
Grasshopper  tells  grandmother  to  cook  Turkeys  and  pretends  to  invite  chiefs. 
He  eats  all  Turkeys  himself  and  tells  old  woman  chiefs  have  had  big  dinner 
and  she  is  to  drink  up  soup. 

3. — The  Prairie  Chicken  and  the  Wolf. 

Wolf  asks  Prairie  Chicken  how  he  came  to  be  spotted.  Prairie  Chicken 
says  he  got  into  hollow  of  tree,  put  a  stick  at  bottom  and  set  fire  to  it  and  stayed 
in  until  he  turned  spotted.  Wolf  tries  plan,  and  his  eyes  pop  out.  Prairie 
Chicken  starts  off  with  eyes,  saying  he  has  got  somebody's  eyes,  which  he  thinks 
are  Coyote's.  Some  Coyotes  hear  him  and  Bob- Tail  (their  best  runner)  catches 
and  kills  him.  Others  come  and  eat  him  up.  Old  Wolf  comes  and  has  to  be 
satisfied  with  bones. 

4. — The  Wolf  and  the  Buffalo. 

Wolf  wishes  he  could  eat  grass.  Buffalo  tells  him  to  stand  sidewise.  He 
then  runs  over  Wolf  and  he  turns  to  Buffalo.  He  is  told  not  to  do  so  to  any 
other  Wolf.  Wolf  Buffalo  meets  another  Wolf  and  turns  him  into  Buffalo, 
but  he  himself  becomes  Wolf  once  more.  He  goes  to  Buffalo,  who,  annoyed  at 
conduct,  runs  over  him  and  kills  him. 

5. — The  Opossum  and  the  Skunk. 

Opossum  and  Skunk  are  sisters-in-law  and  live  together.  Skunk 'persuades 
Opossum  to  eat  her  children,  and  then  goes  away  with  her  own  children.  Skunk 
tells  about  it  and  Opossum  defecates  in  Skunk's  face  and  kills  hei. 

6. — The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf. 

Skunk  gives  Wolf  two  loads  of  his  "bullets."  Wolf  tries  his  gun  on  hickory 
tree  and  then  shoots  and  knocks  down  grapevine  and  eats  grapes.  Wolf  sees 
Elk  coming  and  tries  to  shoot,  but  cannot 

Si 


52        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

7. — The  Skunk  and  the  Wolf. 

Wolf  gets  four  bullets  from  Skunk  and  then  shoots  tree.  With  second 
shot  he  breaks  rock  in  three  pieces.  Then  he  kills  and  eats  turkey.  He  next 
shoots  buffalo  but  without  effect.  Several  Elk  coming,  he  lays  in  wait  for  them, 
but  cannot  shoot,  as  he  has  no  load. 

8. — The  Bear  and  the  Wolf. 

Wolf  visits  Bear  who  kills  four  of  his  young  ones  and  cooks  them  for 
Wolf's  dinner.  Bear  tells  Wolf  to  swallow  no  bOnes  or  his  young  ones  would 
be  crippled.  Wolf  swallows  bones  and  when  young  ones  come  in  they  are  all 
crippled.  He  says  they  must  be  afraid  of  him,  and  goes.  Bear  comes  to  see 
Wolf,  who  cooks  four  of  his  young  ones  for  Bear  and  tells  him  not  to  swallow 
any  bones.  Bear  does  not,  and  Wolf  tells  wife  to  go  and  get  young  ones.  She 
cannot  get  them  back  and  Bear  says  young  ones  must  be  afraid  of  him,  and 
goes. 

9. — The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf. 

Raccoon  suggests  to  Wolf  that  they  copulate.  Wolf  consents  and  Raccoon 
jumps  on  him  and  makes  him  defecate.  Then  Raccoon  goes  to  creek  and  climbs 
tree.  Wolf  tries  to  get  him  to  come  down,  but  without  success,  then  makes 
hatchet  of  mud,  but  it  fails  to  cut  tree.  Raccoon  goes  to  sleep.  While  Wolf  is 
asleep  Raccoon  descends  and  goes  up  another  tree. 

10. — The  Raccoon  and  the  Wolf. 

[Same  as  No.  9,  except  that  Wolf  makes  the  suggestion  as.  to  copulation.] 
Says  he  will  kill  every  Raccoon  he  meets. 

11. — The  Bald-Eagle  and  the  Wolf. 

Bald-Eagle  invites  Wolf  to  come  and  see  him.  Wolf  goes,  and  Bald-Eagle 
flies  to  creek  and  brings  big  fish  to  eat.  Wolf  asks  Bald-Eagle  to  come  and  see 
him.     Bald-Eagle  goes  and  Wolf  jumps  into  creek  to  get  food  and  is  drowned. 

12. — The  Turtle's  War-party. 

Turtle  goes  scalp  hunting.  He  meets  Wolf,  who  wants  to  go  with  him. 
Turtle  allows  him  after  seeing  him  run.  Turtle  meets  Deer  with  same  result. 
Turtle  comes  to  creek  and  Buffalo  offers  to  carry  him  across  between  his  horns 
or  on  his  back,  but  Turtle  is  afraid  of  falling  off.  Buffalo  then  tells  him  to 
get  into  his  rectum.  Turtle  does  so  and  begins  to  eat  Buffalo's  intestines.  When 
across  Buffalo  falls  dead.  Turtle  butchers  Buffalo  and  hangs  him  on  tree. 
Wolves  see  shadow  in  creek,  jump  in  and  are  drowned.  Turtle  comes  to  camp. 
Men  take  him  to  death  judge,  who  proposes  to  put  him  in  hot  water.  Turtle  says 
he  will  knock  hot  water  over  them.  Judge  then  proposes  to  put  him  in  fire. 
Turtle  says  he  will  knock  coals  on  them.  Finally  they  tie  rock  to  Turtle  and 
throw  him  into  creek.  Turtle  gets  loose  and  gets  to  opposite  bank  of  creek. 
Turtle  goes  home  and  wife  breaks  him  to  pieces  with  rock  for  objecting  to  her 
urinating  on  log  under  which  he  was. 

13. — The  Turtle's  War-party. 
Turtle  goes  s.calp  hunting.     Cannot  cross  creek.     Buffalo  offers  to  carry  him 
between  his  horns,  but  Turtle  says  he  might  fall  off.    Buffalo  suggests  his  mouth, 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage— Dorsey.  53 

but  Turtle  objects  that  Buffalo  would  bite  and  kill  him.  Buffalo  then  tells 
Turtle  to  go  into  his  rectum,  which  he  does.  Turtle  eats  intestines  of  Buffalo, 
who  falls  dead  on  opposite  bank.  As  Turtle  comes  out,  Wolf  comes  along. 
Turtle  tells  him  he  has  killed  Buffalo,  and  Wolf  says  he  will  eat  some  of  it 
Turtle  objects  and  Wolf  suggests  that  the  one  who  jumps  over  Buffalo  shall 
eat  him.  Turtle  loses  and  Wolf  gets  friend  to  help  him  to  eat  Buffalo.  Bear 
comes.  Turtle  asks  him  to  butcher  Buffalo.  Bear  does  so,  and  hangs  it  on 
tree  over  creek.  Wolves  come  and  hunt  about  for  Buffalo.  They  find  shadow 
in  water  and  all  jump  in,  but  cannot  find  anything.  One  suggests  that  they  tie 
big  stone  to  their  necks  and  jump  into  water.  First  one  does  so.  Excrement 
rises  and  other  Wolves,  thinking  he  is  full,  jump  into  water,  one  after  another, 
and  all  are  drowned. 

14. — The  Mourning  Frog. 
Frog  loses  his  wife  and  two  old  men  give  him  four  days  to  mourn.  He 
goes  out  mourning  and  neither  eats  nor  drinks.  Frog  comes  back  and  chooses 
one  man  to  louse  him  and  two  to  feed  him.  They  decide  to  go  scalp  hunting. 
In  morning  Frog  halloos  for  men,  who  come,  and  sends  boy  for  head  man. 
Frog  hears  him  coming.  Frog  is  near  tree.  Lightning  strikes  tree  and  Frog 
jumps  into  creek. 

15. — The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Four  Sisters. 

Four  sisters  live  together.  One  sister  cooks,  and  two  make  mats.  Cook  goes 
for  water  and  finds,  skunk.  Next  time  she  sees  raccoon  and  then  deer.  She  and 
sister  butcher  deer.  Next  time  she  sees  Mountain-Lion  with  turkey  it  had 
killed.  They  go  away,  leaving  deer  horns  in  fire.  Mountain-Lion  comes  to 
camp  and  starts  on  their  trail.  Deer  horn  cries  out  and  Mountain-Lion  turns 
back,  but  nobody  is  there.  Starts  again  after  womien,  but  one  stamps  foot  and 
apples  appear.  Mountain-Lion  eats  them  and  then  goes  on.  Woman  does  as  be- 
fore with  same  result.  When  Mountain-Lion  close  to  girls  one  of  them  stamps 
foot  and  makes  big  ravine.  He  asks  how  they  got  across  and  they  say  by  little 
stick  they  laid  across  ravine.  Mountain-Lion  starts  across  and  breaks  stick 
in  middle.     He  falls  into  ravine  and  cannot  get  out. 

16. — The  Mountain-Lion  and  the  Seven  Sisters. 

Seven  sisters  live  together  near  creek.  They  go  in  turn  after  water.  Young- 
est goes  and  sees  by  path  dead  turkey.  Following  mornings  other  sisters  go  in 
order  of  age  and  see  dead  deer,  buffalo,  bear,  elk  and  another  buffalo.  They 
eat  all  animals  and  make  tallow  from  buffalo.  While  butchering  buffalo  they 
get  excited  and  look  out.  Youngest  sister  sees  Mountain-Lion  coming  with  deer 
on  his  back,  which  he  lays  down  and  goes  off.  They  run  away  and  each  has  little 
dog.  Mountain-Lion  brings  another  bear.  He  is  mad  that  deer  not  eaten  and 
eats  it  himself.  Mountain-Lion  starts  after  women.  Oldest  sister  gives  out 
and  tells  sisters  to  kill  her  little  dog  and  put  tallow  on  it.  Mountain-Lion  eats 
dog  and  starts  after  sisters  again.  This  takes  place  until  all  the  dogs  have 
been  killed,  and  have  been  eaten  by  Mountain-Lion.  Oldest  girl  gives  out  and 
is  killed  and  eaten  by  Mountain-Lion.  This  happens  to  all  the  sisters  in  suc- 
cession, except  the  youngest.  She  goes  on  crying  all  day  and  comes  to  lodge 
where  bad  man  lives.  She  asks  man  to  save  her.  He  calls  his  dogs  and  tells 
them  about  Mountain-Lion.     He  says  if  he  looks  at   Mountain-Lion   with  left 


54        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

eye  they  are  to  kill  him.  Mountain-Lion  comes  and  asks  for  girl.  Man  says  she 
is  not  there  and  he  goes  nearer.  Man  looks  at  him  with  left  eye  and  dogs  kill 
him  in  no  time. 

17. — The  Rolling  Head. 

Chief  has  two  girls,  one  of  whom,  Michihi,  is  married  to  boy.  Two  days 
afterwards  boy  goes  hunting  for  scalps  with  man  who  has  mourning  ceremony. 
Party  comes  to  village  and  boy  with  some  others  goes  to  chief's  tipi.  Boy  mar- 
ries chief's  daughter.  Friends  return  home  and  say  boy  has  been  killed.  His 
wife  mourns  for  him,  and  will  not  forget  him.  While  crying  in  timber,  Wood- 
pecker tells  her  boy  is  not  dead  but  has  married  pretty  girl  in  another  village. 
Woodpecker  offers  to  take  her  there.  Girl  goes  home,  makes  moccasins  and 
takes  sister-in-law  to  where  bird  is.  Next  day  they  start,  and  on  eleventh  day 
bird  says  that  at  noon  they  will  see  village  from  hill.  Bird  starts  home  and 
girls  go  through  village.  Boy  and  new  wife  see  them  and  boy  says  he  was 
forced  to  marry  her.  Boy's  father-in-law  goes  to  meet  them,  and  after  being  told 
the  circumstances  takes  girl  as  his  oldest  daughter.  They  stay  about  a  year. 
Man  goes  hunting.  First  wife  jumps  into  creek,  her  head  only  being  visible. 
She  tells  sister-in-law  to  put  head  in  bundle  and  take  her  to  husband  and  wife 
and  to  lay  her  between  them.  She  does  so  and  head  swallows  both  of  them 
and  her  stepfather  and  stepmother.  Sister-in-law  starts  home  with  head,  which 
tells  her  to  throw  head  into  hollow  tree  with  raccoon  in  it.  Little  girl  afraid, 
but  does  so,  and  then  defecates  by  tree.  Head  asks  if  little  girl  there  and  excre- 
ment says  yes.  Head  starts  after  little  girl  who  throws  grease  on  ground  sev- 
eral times  and  head  eats  it,  but  afterwards  follows.  Little  girl  crosses  creek  and 
comes  to  two  old  women  roasting  acorns.  Head  comes  and  old  women  say  they 
have  not  seen  little  girl.  They  make  pot  of  boiling  water  and  throw  head  into 
it  and  kill  it.    Little  girl  gets  home  all  right. 

18. — The  Old  Woman  and  the  Grasshopper. 

Old  Woman  and  Grasshopper  live  together.  Old  woman  plays  sick  and 
says  she  wants  big  animal  to  bury  her.  Grasshopper  loses  grandmother  and  goes 
to  herd  of  Buffalo.  He  brings  one  to  dig  grave.  Buffalo  digs  deep  and  Grass- 
hopper kills  him.     He  butchers  Buffalo  and  old  woman  comes  to  life  again. 

19. — The  Old  Woman  and  the  Orphan  Boy. 

Orphan  boy  living  with  grandmother  is  hungry  for  meat.  Old  woman  tells 
him  to  go  to  Buffalo  and  say  she  is  dead  and  wants  two  big  Buffalo  to  bury 
her.  Boy  comes  crying  to  Buffalo  and  tells  them.  Two  Buffalo  defecate  and 
make  meat  and  tallow  for  him.  Leader  sends  him  to  another  herd.  Boy  goes, 
and  when  old  Buffalo  hears  what  he  wants  he  sends  him  to  pick  out  two  Buffalo. 
He  does  so  and  starts  home  with  them.  Old  woman  makes  out  that  she  is 
dead.  Boy  tells  Buffalo  to  dig  grave  deep  and  when  they  get  down  about  ten 
feet,  old  woman  kills  them.  They  butcher  buffalo  and  boy  takes  feet  and  makes 
tracks  back  to  hill  to  deceive  Buffalo  coming  to  see  about  it. 

20. — The  Rabbit  and  the  Picture. 

Men  dig  well  and  go  home.  Rabbit  comes  to  get  drink.  Men  see  Rabbit's 
tracks  and  study  what  to  do.    Rabbit  comes  again.    When  men  see  tracks  again, 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  55 

they  draw  picture  of  girl  and  leave  it  near  well.  When  they  go,  Rabbit  returns 
and  sees  picture.  He  asks  girl  for  drink,  but  she  says  nothing  and  he  threatens 
her.  Rabbit  hits  girl  with  right  foot  .and  it  sticks  fast.  Then  he  hits  her  with 
left  foot  and  afterwards  he  kicks  girl  with  right  leg  and  left  leg.  All  stick  fast, 
and  Rabbit  then  bites  girl  and  mouth  sticks.  Men  come  back  and  see  Rabbit 
stuck  to  girl's  picture.    They  throw  Rabbit  and  girl's  picture  away. 

21. — The  Woman  who  married  her  Son. 

As  people  are  starting  on  deer  hunt,  woman  dies  and  is  buried.  Her  boy, 
who  has  been  visiting  other  Indians,  returns  and  finds  woman  there  alive. 
Woman  dresses  as  man  and  they  start  after  Indians.  They  think  boy  and  woman 
are  married.  Woman  sees  five  children  she  had  left  and  gives  them  meat. 
They  tell  father  who  invites  woman  to  eat  with  them.  After  she  has  come  and 
gone,  girl  tells  father  that  woman  is  her  mother.  They  move  camp  and  woman 
and  man  stay  behind.    Father  waits  for  them  on  road  and  kills  them  both. 

22. — The  Woman  who  tried  to  marry  her  Son-in-Law. 

Woman  falls  in  love  with  son-in-law.  She  partially  cuts  rope  of  swing 
near  water.  While  husband  out  hunting,  woman  goes  with  daughter  to  swing. 
Old  woman  swings  first  across  water  and  back.  Then  girl  swings  and  on  re- 
turn, rope  breaks  and  she  falls  into  water  and  is  drowned.  Man  comes  in  at 
dark  and  asks  for  wife.  Old  woman  finally  tells  him  she  is  drowned  and  that 
she  will  take  care  of  baby.  Man  mourns  for  his  wife  and  goes  away  for  week 
at  time  without  eating.  When  out  mourning,  thunderstorm  comes  and  Lightning 
strikes  all  about  tree  he  lis  sitting  under.  Second  time  Lightning  strikes  tree  near 
him  and  leaves  him  club.  Lightning  tells  him  that  wife  was  drowned  by  old 
woman  in  big  water,  and  that  he  is  to  try,  and  that  he  will  get  her  back  in  four 
days.  Man  goes  to  big  water,  where  he  sees  wife.  She  says  she  is  tied  with 
chains  and  will  come  up  four  times.  Next  time  she  comes  half  way  out  and  asks 
for  baby  to  nurse.  Man  takes  baby.  He  takes  baby  again  and  woman  comes 
out  up  to  her  knees.  When  woman  comes  out  fourth  time,  man  hits  chain  with 
club.  He  gets  wife.  They  go  back  home  and  man  puts  red-hot  arrow  through 
ears  of  old  woman  and  kills  her. 

23. — The  Woman  wrHO  married  a  Buffalo. 

Pretty  girl  talks  with  man  at  creek,  and  runs  off  with  him.  They  go 
long  way,  and  man  becomes  Buffalo.  He  makes  her  ride  between  his  horns. 
They  come  to  his  partner,  who  is  dead.  Buffalo  becomes  man  again  and  he 
makes  bow  and  arrows.  He  shoots  at  dead  Buffalo,  who  comes  to  life  again. 
They  carry  girl  on  horns  long  way  and  then  leave  her.  On  return  they  lick  girl 
all  over  and  she  gives  birth  to  little  Buffalo.  Buffalo,  "One-Rib,"  takes  girl  and 
goes  off  with  her.  Other  Buffalo  start  after  him,  but  every  time  they  catch 
up  with  him  he  makes  wide  ditch  they  cannot  get  over.  One-Rib  says  he  will 
make  two  women  and  put  them  with  girl  and  says  if  his  father  can  tell  wife  from 
others  he  may  have  her  back.  Girl  sends  word  by  young  one  to  his  father  and 
that  she  will  move  her  right  ear.  Buffalo  identifies  his  wife,  and  One-Rib  tells 
her  to  take  her  away.  He  goes  away  with  her.  Girl  hears  man  crying  and  tells 
little  Buffalo  it  is  her  uncle  and  that  she  is  going  home  with  him.  Buffalo  takes 
them  to  where  he  lives  and  at  midnight  they  start  for  home.     Buffalo  follow. 


56        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.  VII. 

Girl  climbs  tree  and  leaves  young  one  at  base,  covered  with  grass.  Buffalo 
pass  them,  but  come  back.  Husband  turns  himself  into  man,  and  girl  tells 
young  one  to  call  him.  He  promises  to  take  them  home  and  soon  afterwards  he 
goes  home  with  them.  Girl  tells  parents  of  her  marriage  and  that  she  has  little 
son.  They  send  her  for  him  and  he  turns  to  boy.  His  father  says  no  one  is  to 
whip  his  baby.  Little  Buffalo  plays  with  girls  and  boys,  who  fool  him  with 
blanket.  He  is  tired  of  them  and  kicks  boy.  Boy  gets  mad  and  calls  names. 
Little  Buffalo  cries  and  father  turns  himself  into  Buffalo  again  and  starts  off  with 
little  one.    All  Buffalo  in  camp  go  with  them. 

24. — The  Girl  and  the  Mountain-Lion. 

Girl  Mitsihi  sends  crier  to  call  women  together  and  tells  them  she  is  going 
away,  because  her  mother  had  whipped  her.  Several  other  girls  and  the  crier  go 
with  her.  First  night  one  girl  is  missing.  This  happens  three  other  nights. 
Next  night,  crier  is  missing.  Next  night  another  girl  is  missing.  Mitsihi  goes 
on  alone,  crying,  and  bird  speaks  to  her.  Bird  tells  her  Mountain-Lion  had 
eaten  her  friends.  Bird  says  she  is  to  get  into  hole  in  rock  and  put  big  rock 
in  front  and  Mountain-Lion  will  come  at  midnight.  She  does  so  and  Mountain- 
Lion  comes  and  asks  her  to  open  door.  She  tells  it  to  come  nearer.  He 
comes  nearer  and  she  pushes  rock  on  to  him  and  kills  him.  Mountain-Lion 
has  bodies  in  him.  Mitsihi  goes  on  crying  and  finds  several  girl  babies,  nqne 
of  which  she  picks  up.  She  then  finds  boy  baby  which  she  picks  up  and  carries 
with  her.  She  builds  tipi  and  when  boy  is  big  enough  she  makes  him  bow 
and  arrows.  He  kills  jay  bird  and  then  blackbird.  Mother  wants  to  name  boy 
and  gets  Owl  to  call  birds  together.  While  they  are  waiting  for  Eagles,  Owl 
names  child  and  other  birds  get  mad.  Boy  becomes  fine-looking  man  and  kills 
deer.     He  finds  camp  and  does  not  return  home. 

25. — The  mourning  Woman  and  her  Lover. 

Man  and  woman  live  together.  Man  dies  and  woman  grieves.  Indians  go 
buffalo  hunting  and  return.  Woman  still  mourning.  Always  goes  out  to  elm 
tree  and  cries  under  it.  Two  boys,  suspecting  her,  go  and  climb  tree.  Woman 
goes  to  elm  tree  and  looks  back  towards  camp.  Boy  finely  dressed  comes.  He 
and  woman  lie  together  and  act  like  horses.  At  sundown  boy  sees  others  in 
tree  and  runs  away.  He  points  up  in  tree  and  woman  sees  boys.  They  go 
home.     The  lover  dies  same  night  and  next  night  woman  dies. 

26. — The  Deceived  Boy. 

Boy  and  his  grandmother  go  hunting  and  find  deer.  Boy  shoots  deer  and 
asks  grandmother  whether  he  killed  it.  Grandmother  says  no.  She  cooks  beans 
and  goes  to  get  piece  of  meat  from  dead  deer  to  cook  with  them.  Boy  says 
beans  smell  like  meat.  Old  woman  denies  there  is  any  meat.  Boy  asks  Grand- 
mother for  his  meat  and  says  she  has  hidden  the  deer. 

27. — The  Boy  and  Old  Cheat. 

Old  Cheat  takes  all  the  people's  pretty  girls  and  fine  horses.  Boy  and 
grandfather  go  with  other  Indians  killing  buffalo.  Old '  Cheat  takes  his  wife 
out  with  him  to  get  all  buffalo  tongues.  Boy  refuses  to  give  them  tongue. 
When  Old  Cheat  starts  for  boy  he  stamps  on  ground  and  Old  Cheat  is  para- 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Dorsey.  57 

lyzed.  He  says  he  will  give  boy  one  of  his  wives.  Boy  says  he  will  take  one. 
When  boy  gets  back  to  camp  he  goes  to  Old  Cheat's  tipi  and  takes  his  prettiest 
wife.  Old  Cheat  goes  to  get  wife.  Boy  tells  girl  to  get  two  lice,  red  and  blue, 
from  his  head.  Boy  throws  them  at  Old  Cheat  and  they  turn  to  Mountain- 
Lions,  which  kill  Old  Cheat. 

28. — The  Boy  and  his  Dog. 

Five  boys  go  hunting,  leaving  small  boy  at  home  with  old  folks  and  sisters- 
in-law.  He  is  to  set  fire  to  grass  if  anything  happens.  Just  before  boys  return, 
Pawnee  come,  burn  old  folks  and  carry  off  young  women.  Boys  see  smoke 
and  run  home,  but  find  only  boy  and  his  dog.  They  start  after  enemy  and  come 
to  where  they  have  camped.  Youngest  boy  goes  on  with  dog,  when  dog  goes 
alone  to  find  right  trail.  Dog  reports  that  he  has  seen  camp  with  fire  still 
burning.  Boys  run  on  all  night.  Next  day,  youngest  brother  and  dog  go  again 
in  advance  and  dog  sees  smoke.  Boys  again  run  all  night.  Dog  says  he  will 
go  and  Hoo  like  wolf  and  after  fourth  time  wolves  will  come  and  catch  Pawnee. 
He  goes  about  a  mile  and  Hoo's.  Wolves  come  from  all  directions,  jump  on 
Pawnee  and  kill  them.  Boys  come  up  and  scalp  them  and  then  return  home  with 
women. 

29. — The  Boy  and  Big- Nest. 

People  taken  from  camp  by  beast  called  "Big-Nest,"  living  near  creek.  Beast 
is  caught  and  put  in  little  house.  Boys  play  shinny  near  and  one  rolls  his  ball 
inside  of  house.  Boy  stays  near  house  crying  and  Big-Nest  persuades  him  to 
open  door  of  house.  Big-Nest  goes  back  to  creek.  Boy  confesses  and  his 
father  turns  him  away.  Boy  goes  to  creek  and  tells  Big-Nest,  who  gives  him 
four  round  clay  balls  which  will  enable  him  to  catch  and  kill  animals.  Boy 
sees  man  with  two  dogs,  and  tells  him  about  man-eater.  Man  says  killer  of 
man-eater  is  to  marry  chiefs  daughter.  Man  gets  to  creek  and  when  Big-Nest 
comes  out  he  sets  dogs  on  him  and  they  kill  him.  Boy  watches  and  then  goes 
on.  He  sees  deer  and  throws  clay  ball  which  turns  into  Mountain-Lion  and 
kills  deer.  Comes  to  creek,  throws  ball  for  fish  in  and  brings  out  two  big  bass. 
He  comes  to  some  turkeys  and  throws  third  clay  ball,  which  turns  into  wild- 
cat. He  catches  and  cooks  turkey.  He  comes  to  prairie,  where  herd  of  buffalo.. 
He  tells  buffalo  clay  ball  he  wants  biggest  buffalo  in  herd.  Ball  turns  into 
Mountain-Lion,  which  kills  biggest  buffalo.  Boy  comes  to  house  where  man  is 
living.  He  stays  long  time  and  brings  in  deer  and  turkey.  Some  one  comes  for 
boy  to  prove  that  man  with  dogs  had  killed  man-eater.  When  he  gets  home 
people  are  washing  colored  man  in  hot  water,  to  make  him  white.  He  had  said 
he  killed  man-eater.  Boy  says  it  was  other  man,  so  they  cut  colored  man's  ears 
off  and  throw  him  into  creek.  Other  man  marries  chief's  daughter  and  gives 
wedding  feast.    Old  man  and  son  do  not  go,  as  boy  wanted  to  marry  girl. 

30. — The  Deserted  Boy  and  his  Sister. 

Popped  acorn  strikes  boy  in  stomach  and  grows  to  be  tree.  Boy  always  lies 
on  bed.  People  go  off  hunting,  leaving  boy  and  youngest  sister.  Sister  sees 
turkey,  deer  and  buffalo,  which  they  eat.  She  sees  man  with  elk.  She  says  he 
killed  animals  for  them.  Man  marries  girl.  He  tells  her  to  pick  up  refuse  and 
old  pieces  of  blanket  in  camp.     They  put  things  in  big  hole.     Hard  wind  comes 


58        Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology,  Vol.   VII. 

and  blows  acorn  tree  off  boy's  stomach.  He  is  all  right.  They  uncover  things 
and  find  blankets,  clothing,  food,  etc.  They  build  lodge.  Four  men  come  and 
are  given  dinner,  blankets  and  everything  they  can  carry.  Men  tell  people  at 
their  camp  and  they  all  return  to  village.  Father,  mother  and  sisters  come  and 
cry,  but  they  will  not  let  them  enter  lodge.  After  a  while  they  let  them  in  and 
girl  gives  them  of  everything  they  have. 

31.— The  Boy,  the  Arrow  and  the  Ducks. 

Four  men  live  together.  Two  brothers  have  two  arrows.  Older  brother 
tells  younger  not  to  shoot  any  birds,  nor  use  arrow,  as,  if  he  did,  bird  will  carry 
it  away.  Younger  boy  shoots  at  Eagle,  but  misses  it.  Brother  says  if  he  uses 
arrow  he  will  see  hard  days.  Bald-Headed-Eagle  and  various  other  birds  come 
on  successive  days  and  young  boy  shoots  at  them  all  without  hitting.  Then  Red- 
Duck  comes,  and  boy  shoots  all  his  arrows  at  it.  He  then  goes  and  gets  arrow 
brother  had  told  him  not  to  shoot.  He  shoots  and  hits  duck  in  breast.  Duck 
carries  arrow  away.  Boy  cries  all  day,  and  when  others  return  from  hunting  he 
is  missing.  He  starts  after  arrow,  following  Duck.  He  walks  year  and  comes 
to  village.  He  goes  to  chief's  tipi  and  learns  that  Red-Duck  had  passed  through 
there  two  days  ago.  Chief  gives  him  pair  of  moccasins.  Boy  reaches  several 
other  villages  in  succession  and  learns  that  Red-Duck  had  passed  through  so 
many  days  before.  At  last  he  comes  to  village  which  Red-Duck  was  through 
at  noon  that  day.  Boy  goes  on  and  comes  to  big  water.  After  asking  Brown- 
Duck  and  then  White-Duck  to  stretch  legs  across  water  he  finally  crosses  by 
walking  on  Red-Duck's  legs.  Boy  finds  thousands  of  birds,  who  welcome  him. 
They  say  they  had  been  trying  for  long  time  to  get  his  brother's  arrow  and 
finally  Red-Duck  got  it.  They  bring  him  blankets  to  take  home  for  his  brothers. 
They  twist  four  blankets  together  in  bundle  and  place  arrow  in  it.  Boy  crosses 
again  by  Red-Duck's  legs  and  sets  out  for  home.  His  brothers  untie  bundle  and 
find  arrow  with  blankets. 

32. — The  Boy  and  the  Mountain-Lion. 

Mountain-Lion-Man  goes  scalp  hunting  with  war-party  and  has  leg  frozen. 
They  leave  him  with  food  and  forget  him.  Two  Mountain-Lions  come  after 
him  and  carry  him  on  their  backs  to  their  den.  Male  and  female  Mountain- 
Lions  take  him  for  their  boy.  They  feed  him  deer,  wild  turkey  and  buffalo. 
Finally  they  get  iron-gray  horse  to  take  boy  home  and  go  with  him.  They  find 
his  people  and  give  him  toe-nail  to  use  when  he  wants  to  be  Mountain-Lion. 
His  folks  are  glad  to  see  him  and  he  becomes  leader  of  scalping  parties.  Moun- 
tain-Lions tell  boy  to  get  something  from  people.  People  become  afraid  of  him. 
He  takes  pretty  girls,  buffalo  and  horses  from  them.  He  tells  boy  to  give  him 
buffalo  and  go  and  hunt  another  one.  Boy  refuses  and  man  goes  after  boy. 
They  are  both  Mountain-Lion  men.  Boy  overpowers  man  and  kills  him.  He 
goes  and  takes  one  of  man's  wives.  Other  people  go  and  get  their  horses,  but 
boy  picks  out  best  for  himself. 

33. — The  Boy  and  the  Owl. 

Baby  boy  is  always  crying  at  night  and  mother  puts  him  outside  of  lodge. 
Owl  takes  baby  to  his  nest.    Boy  hears  owl  halloo  and  then  another  halloo,  as 


Feb.,  1904.  Traditions  of  the  Osage — Doksey.  59 

though  made  by  person.  They  go  to  tree  and  cut  it  down.  They  split  tree 
and  find  missing  baby,  which  acts  like  owl.  They  take  it  back  and  finally  it 
gets  used  to  them. 

34. — The  Boy  who  killed  the  Hill. 

Hill  near  village  eats  up  everything — buffalo,  deer  and  horses.  Boy  sharpens 
knife  with  which  to  kill  hill.  Goes  and  asks  hill  to  eat  him.  Hill  does  so.  When 
inside,  boy  cuts  hill's  heart  and  hill  dies.  All  things  inside  come  out  and  go  into 
woods.     Boy  is  given  chief's  daughter  as  reward. 

35. — The  Boy  and  the  Bad  Spirit. 

Indians  go  scalp  hunting.  When  some  distance,  one  has  sore  foot  and 
starts  back.  He  kills  deer  and  roasts  best  part  of  it  at  night  near  creek.  Hears 
something  coming.  Bad  Spirit  comes  and  eats  meat.  Tells  him  not  to  be 
afraid,  he  has  walked  over  Spirit's  house,  but  he  will  not  hurt  him. 

36. — The  Chief's  Son  and  the  Orphan  Girl. 

Chief  has  boy  and  little  adopted  orphan  girl.  Girl  has  lice  on  her  head.  She 
says  she  will  have  child  by  chiefs  son  and  goes  and  drinks  his  urine.  In  fort- 
night she  is  pregnant.  Boy's  mother  tells  him  she  is  going  to  have  baby  by 
him.  Girl  has  baby  and  next  morning  boy  runs  off.  Girl  follows  him.  As  boy 
is  cooking  deer,  he  sees  girl  coming  and  shoots  her.  He  goes  on  and  at  night 
?irl  again  walks  up.  He  shoots  her  again  and  goes  on.  This  occurs  twice 
more  and  last  time  boy  cuts  up  girl  and  baby  too.  Boy  goes  on  and  at  night 
girl  comes  again,  all  dressed  up  very  pretty.  They  live  together.  Boy  makes 
corral  of  trees  and  big  lodge  and  digs  well  inside.  One  morning  they  have  good 
many  horses,  field  in  good  condition  and  good  many  negro  slaves. 

37. — The  Water-Baby. 

Woman  is  at  creek  washing  and  her  baby  disappears.  She  mourns  for  it 
every  day.  Year  after  throws  her  shirt  away.  Woman  hears  that  two  boys  know 
about  baby.  By  husband's  advice  she  cooks  food  and  invites  boys.  They  tell 
her  they  can  get  baby  back  if  she  wants  it.  She  promises  them  her  best  horse 
if  they  do  so.  One  of  the  boys  says  baby  is  in  water  and  acts  like  monsters.  In 
four  days  he  brings  baby  and  gets  horse. 

38. — The  Lost  Boy  and  his  Horse. 

Boy  strays  from  village,  is  lost  in  big  prairie.  Stays  in  hollow  tree.  Wild 
horses  graze  around.  They  come  again,  and  stallion  asks  him  to  go  with  them. 
He  goes  and  stays  with  Horses,  in  tall  grass,  two  years.  Horses  go  away  for 
two  days.  Pawnee  kill  buffalo.  Two  girls  butchering  buffalo.  One  goes  to  tall 
grass  for  water  and  finds  boy.  Girls  take  him  home  with  them  and  tell  father 
they  want  him  for  brother.  Chief  tells  people  and  they  promise  not  to  hurt  him. 
Boy  stays  long  time.  Boy  and  sister  take  Horses  to  tall  grass  and  his  Horse 
sees  him.  Horse  says  if  he  returns  in  two  days  they  will  go  with  him.  He 
does,  and  he  rides  Horse  and  drives  others  home.  Boy  becomes  man  and  sisters 
marry,  him.  Horse  tells  him  his  folks  are  close  by.  Boy  tells  wives  he  is  going 
to  see  folks  and  may  not  return.  Boy  goes  and  sees  father  and  mother.  He 
returns  with  them  and  they  make  him  marry  again.     Two  years  afterwards  he 


60       Field  Columbian  Museum — Anthropology-,   Vol.   VII. 

goes  with  Horse  to  home  of  his  first  wives.  He  says  he  wants  to  get  all  wives- 
together.  Chief  consents  and  they  set  out  for  place  where  other  wife  is.  His 
Horse  dies  and  other  wild  Horses  go  off. 

39. — The  Boy  who  ran  away. 

Boy  rides  favorite  horse  of  his  brother,  who  whips  him  for  it.  He  runs 
away  and  comes  to  Pawnee  killing  buffalo.  Two  girls  are  butchering  buffalo 
and  he  goes  to  them.  They  take  him  home  and  tell  father  they  want  him  for 
brother.  Father  takes  him  as  son.  He  lives  with  them  two  years  and  after 
buffalo  hunt  when  he  kills  many  buffalo,  sisters  say  they  want  him  to  get  mar- 
ried. They  pick  girl  out  for  him  and  he  marries  her  after  proper  negotiations 
and  payment  of  horses  by  chief.  Boy  goes  to  see  his  folks  and  father  cries  when 
he  hears  of  marriage,  and  wants  him  to  stay.  Boy  refuses.  He  goes  off.  Next 
time,  boy  takes  his  wife  and  they  stay  year  with  his  folks.  When  they  go  off, 
father  eats  nothing  for  four  days. 

40. — Splinter-Foot  Girl. 

Youngest  of  four  brothers  stays  at  home  when  they  go  hunting.  On  their 
return  he  is  crippled.  Boys  foot  swells  and  when  squeezed  little  girl  baby  comes 
out.  Boy  kills  baby  with  club,  but  it  comes  back  again.  He  does  so  again,  with 
like  result.  Third  time  he  cuts  her  in  pieces  and  throws  her  in  creek.  Baby 
comes  again  and  he  again  kills  her.  She  comes  back  and  calls  him  uncle.  He 
now  combs  her  hair  and  hides  her  in  brush.  Brothers  return  and  they  take  her 
for  their  sister.  Brothers  make  girl  go  before  them  when  hunting  and  call  deer, 
elk  and  buffalo.  All  come  and  boys  kill  them.  Oldest  brother  tells  niece  Mon- 
ster is  coming  to  get  her,  and  that  she  must  not  look  at  him.  Monster  falls 
down  at  door  but  girl  says  nothing.  Next  day  Monster  comes  and  throws  him- 
self on  fire.  Girl  looks  at  it  and  it  is  Elk.  Elk  takes  girl  away.  Two  of  uncles 
start  after  them  through  bushes,  which  had  torn  girl's  hair  and  clothes,  and  on 
fourth  day  they  catch  up  with  Elk.  Girl  is  sat  down  with  elk  horn.  She  sees 
uncles  and  runs  for  them.  Elks  are  scared  and  run  for  timber.  When  uncles 
and  niece  reach  home  they  make  girl  jump  log  and  her  hair  grows  back  and  her 
clothes  are  replaced. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

FEB  17  1938 

WWHWTY  OF  ILLINOIS 


